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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
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• 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.

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

• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "agentofwholetrademar ketingcompanylimited" <samadot@rediffmail.com>
Date: 7 Dec 2006 14:50:15 -0000
Subject: WHOLETRADE ANNUAL LOTTERY



Dear Winner,
We are pleased to announce you as one of the 6 lucky winners in the FREELOTTOINTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROMOTIONS draw held on 16th NOVEMBER, 2006. All 6 winningaddresses were randomly selected from a batch of 40,000 international emails.Your email address emerged alongside 5 others as a 1ST category winner in thismonth\'s draw.
Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of $10milliononly. The following particulars are attached to your lottery payment order:
(I) Winning numbers: 1 2 21 9 41 6
ii) Email ticket number: 12a
iii) Lotto batch number: 328-3GD iv) File Ref. number: AFILP/66-CAW662005
Please contact the under listed claims officer as soon as possible for theimmediate release of your winning CHEQUE:
Mr.BARRY BUCHANANFOREIGN DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR,FREELOTTO LOTTERY PROMOTIONS.Email: agentofcourier@inmail24.comOnce again on behalf of all our staff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR A SAMPLE OF YOUR LOTTO WINNING CHEQUE.CONGRATULATIONS

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam