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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• 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.
  • +2348030951177 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • camilla.trapp@yahoo.ca (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: shannon.woods@neworleans.com
Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2007 07:09:29 -0600
Subject: Eco International Lottery Headquarters

Eco International Lottery Headquarters
Customer Service
Ref: EU/8260Y4/83
Batch: 062/09/XT528
WINNING
NOTIFICATION:

We happly announce to you the draw of the Eco Internationa
Lottery Sweepstake Online Lottery International programs
held on the 14th of November, 2006 in BRESCIA ITALY Your
e-mail address attached to ticket number:56475600545 188
with Serial number 6924/07 drew the lucky
numbers:16-4-13-24-46-2, which subsequently won you the
lottery in the 2nd category.

You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of
US$2,500,000.00 (Two million,Five Hundred Thousand United
States Dollars) in cash credited to file
ktu/9023118308/03.This is from a total cash prize of US $ 25
Million dollars,shared among the first Ten (10) lucky
winners in this category.

All participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web
site through computer draw system and extracted from over
100,000 companies.This promotion takes place annually Please
note that your lucky winning number falls within our African
booklet representative office in West Africa as indicated in
your play coupon.In view of this, your US$2,500,000.00 (Two
million,Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) would
be released to you by our payment office in Africa. Our
African agent will immediately commence the process to
facilitate the release of your funds as soon as
you contact him.

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning
information confidential till your claims is processed and
your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit
to claim your prize. This is part of our precautionary
measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of
this program by some unscrupulous elements.
Please be warned. To file for your claim, please contact our
fiduciary agent:

NAME: Mrs. Camilla Trapp.
PHONE: +234 803 095 1177
EMAIL: camilla.trapp@yahoo.ca

To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote
your full
1. Full Names: ---------------------------------
2. Residential Address: ------------------------
3. Phone Number: -------------------------------
4. Fax Number:-----------------------------------
5. Occupation: -----------------------------------
6. Sex: -----------------------------------------
7. Age : ----------------------------------------
8. Nationality: ---------------------------------
9. Present Country: -----------------------------

Sincerely,
Daniel Morgan.
Eco International Lottery Online Co-ordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam