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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
  
  1. They don't notify winners by email.
  2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
  3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
  4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
  5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
  6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
  7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447031928736 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448704791293 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • woods_crawford3@myway.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Elisabeth Shaw Lottery Promotion <elisabethshaw@primus.ca>
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:02:54 -0400
Subject: OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION!!!

ELISABETH SHAW FOUNDATION LOTTERY PROMOTION
UK OFFICE
26 ST. JOHN'S STREET, LONDON, EC1M 4BL UK

WINNING NOTIFICATION

Dear Winner,

We are pleased to announce you as one of the 10 lucky winners in the ELISABETH SHAW FOUNDATION LOTTERY PROMOTION draw held on the 20th of October 2006. All 10 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 50,000,000 international emails. Your email address emerged alongside 9 others as a category 2 winner in this year's Annual ELISABETH SHAW FOUNDATION LOTTERY PROMOTION Draw.

Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of US$585,000 (Five Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand United States Dollars) only. The following particulars are attached to your lotto payment order:

(i) Winning Numbers: 12 19 17 22 24 43
(ii) Email Ticket Number: UK853/22/71
(iii) Lotto Code Number: DS09612UK
(iv) File Ref Number: ES/04/736207152/UK

Please contact the under listed claims officer as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings:

(CLAIM'S OFFICER)
NAME:     Mr.Woods Crawford
E-MAIL : woods_crawford3@myway.com
PHONE NUMBERS: +44-7031928736,FAX: +44-870 479 1293
 

N.B: Steps to claiming your prize;

1. Contact your claims agent Immediately you receive this notification to begin the claims process.
2. Do please quote your Draw, Reference and Winning numbers in any correspondence with our designated agent. Please include the below information when contacting the agent:

* FULL NAME OF WINNER
* FULL MAILING ADDRESS
* COUNTRY/REGION
* STATE/PROVINCE
* DATE OF BIRTH
* OCCUPATION
* SEX
* MARITAL STATUS
* TEL/FAX
 
3. Also quote your Lotto code number and File reference number. This is very important.
Please quote your Reference number in all correspondence with the claims officer.

Once again on behalf of all ELISABETH SHAW FOUNDATION LOTTERY PROMOTION staff,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Sincerely,
Monica Daniels.
Promotions Manager.
                     
PURPOSE OF ELISABETH SHAW FOUNDATION LOTTERY PROMOTION
======================================================
To encourage internet users.                   

Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to Disqualification.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ELISABETH SHAW FOUNDATION LOTTERY PROMOTION: a non governmental organization (NGO) is proudly sponsored by the Microsoft Corporation,the Intel Group, and Toshiba, Dell computers, Mackintosh and a conglomeration of other international IT companies. ELISABETH SHAW FOUNDATION LOTTERY PROMOTION draw is held once in a year and is so organized to encourage the use of the internet and computers worldwide. We are proud to say that over 200 Million dollars are won annually in more than 150 countries worldwide.

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam