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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "20 craven park, harlesden"
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +447024031865 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Microsoft lottery" <microsoft.winninglottery@rediffmail.com>
Date: 18 Jan 2007 22:55:55 -0000
Subject: Good day...



Microsoft Award Team20 Craven Park, HarlesdenLondon NW10United Kingdom
Ref: BTD/968/05Batch: 409978E


Dear Sir/Madam,
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;WINNING NOTIFICATION
The prestigious Micrsoft and aol&nbsp; has set out and successfully organised a Sweepstakes marking the&nbsp;begining of the year we rolled out over £2,000.000.00 (Two million Great Britain Pounds) for our&nbsp;newyear Anniversary Draws. Participants for the draws were randomly selected and drawn from a wide range of web hosts which we enjoy their patronage.
The selection was made through a computer draw system attaching personalised email addresses to ticket numbers. Bill Gates is sharing his fortune. If you ignore this, you will regret it later. Microsoft and AOL are now the largest Internet companies and in an effort to make sure that Internet Explorer remains the most widely used program, Microsoft and AOL are running an e-mail beta test.

&nbsp;Your email address as indicated was drawn and attached to ticket number 008795727498 with serial numbers BTD/9080648302/06 and drew the lucky numbers 14-21-25-39-40-47(20) which subsequently won you £300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds) already issued in a cheque as one of the 10 jackpot winners in this draw. You have therefore won the entire winning sum of £300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds). The draws registered as Draw number one was conducted in Brockley, London United Kingdom on the&nbsp;24th &nbsp;of January&nbsp;2006. These Draws are commemorative and as such special.

Please be informed by this winning notification,to claim your winning cheque,you are to&nbsp;make contact with your designated agent who shall by duty guide you through the process to facilitate the release of your winning cheque.To file for your claim Please Contact your fiduciary agent
Dr James paterson,
Microsoft Promotion Award TeamEmail:agentjames@postmaster.co.ukTel:+447024031865You are advised to contact your fiduciary agent with the following details to avoid unnecessary delays and complications with your Name (in Full), Country, Ticket Number, Batch Number, SerialNumber and Lucky Numbers as indicated in this winning Notification.
Thank you for being part of this promotional award program.


Our special thanks and gratitude to Bill Gates and his associates.We wish you thebest of luck as you spend your good fortune.Thank you for being part of our commemorative end of year Anniversary Draws.
Sincerely,
Dr.&nbsp;Williams McdonaldsMicrosoft Promotion Team NB:PLEASE NOTE! Any claim not made before seven (21) working days from dateof notification will indicate that the winner has voluntarily forfeitedhis/her winnings.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam