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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:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "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.
  • +447040130196 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448704460051 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Steve Fisher" <natluk_o16@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:34:39 +0000
Subject: Congratulations

DEAR SIR/MADAM,
RESULTS FOR 2010 PROMOTIONAL DRAW
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY wishes to officially inform you that you have emerged a
winner under our 2010 promotional Category Draws held on the 1ST OF
OCTOBER,2006. Our third category is a free entry promotional draw, winners
were selected by a special computer ballot system in an attempt to give a
worldwide reach to participants.

CONGRATULATIONS! You are a confirmed winner of £2,000,000.00 (Two Million
POUNDS STERLING) in cash, which is the winning payout for our Third
Category.

FIND BELOW YOUR COMPLETE WINNING DETAILS;
REFERENCE NUMBER:NL1
BATCH NUMBERS:PPT-3
TICKET NUMBER: 41-27
SERIAL NUMBER: 17-23
LUCKY NUMBERS: 02 24 27 29 38 45 (07)

For immediate processing and remittance of your Prize Money to you, an
attorney has been appointed to assist you in processing your claims.The
option of choosing your personal attorney is not open,all claims must be
processed by the designated attorney.

WILLIAM PRESCOTT
PRESCOTT AND ASSOCIATES,
PHONE: +44-704-013-0196
+44 845-020-4355
FAX: +44-870-446-0051
EMAIL: lotterypayments@capitalmanagementltd.com


Remember, you must contact your attorney not later than 2 weeks from the
date of this notice. After this date, all unclaimed winnings will be
returned to the Lottery firm. To avoid double claiming, you are strongly
advised to keep your winning details confidential until you are succesfully
paid your winnings. YOUR REFERENCE NUMBER SHOULD BE STATED IN EVERY
CORRESPONDENCE YOU HAVE WITH YOUR CLAIMS AGENT.

Congratulations once again from all our staff and thank you for being part
of our promotions programme.

Sincerely,
STEVE FISHER
LOTTERY COORDINATOR
NATIONAL LOTTERY
PHONE: +44-7040129341


N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to
disqualification. Contact your claims agent.(TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY)

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam