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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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: "MR.CHARLES COLE" <agentcharles006@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 05:01:52 -0800 (PST)
Subject: FILE YOUR CLAIM


Claims department
Australian lotto board
UK regional office

Attn: Lucky Winner ,

I am Mr. Charles Cole the fiduciary agent assigned to
your case. I wish to congratulate you on your victory;
you are a lucky person to have won this two hundred
thousand (200,000.00 ).Winning No: FGNGB2701/LPRC.
Your email address was amongst those chosen this
quarter from our new java-based software that randomly
selects email addresses from the web from which
winners are selected.However, no tickets were sold but
all email addresses were assigned to different ticket
numbers for representation and privacy.

This Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board
and also Licensed by the The International Association
of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).This lottery is the 3rd of
its kind and we intend to sensitize the public.

You are required to forward the following details to
help facilitate the processing of your money and
certificate which will warrant the release of your
200,000.00 prize, all these informations are needed
for issuing you the winning certificate.

1. Full names.
2. Phone number.
3. Fax number.
4. Occupation.
5. Sex.
6. Age.
7. Nationality.
8. Your residential address

so after giving these details i will file your claim
and forward to our head office at Australia to get
approval of your payment but mean while as soon as the
informations are gotten you will have to go for our
payment form in which you will indicate how you want
your payment which i will foward to the paying bank
immediatly for your payment so what ever information
we see in the payment form will be used in payment.
We pay by courier company (diplomatic means) , Wire
transfer and cashier cheque so one has to be indicated
in the form as means of payment.

Informations required will be used for your file and
award certificate so you are adviced to keep all your
winning particulars safe from public untill claims are
processed to avoid double claims which may arise to
DISQUALIFICATION.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Mr. Charles Cole,
(Claims agent)
AUSTRALIAN LOTTO BOARD
U.K REGIONAL OFFICE


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam