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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
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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: "KYTZIA EWELL" <ewellkytzia@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:10:49 -0700
Subject: NOTIFICATION

I have recently received an e-mail from The National Lottery to inform me of
the result of the last final annual draw from the INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY
Programs, wish said:

"The online cyber lotto draws was conducted from an exclusive list of
25,000,000 e-mail addresses of individuals and corporate institutions,
picked by an advance automated random computer search from the internet.
After this automated computer ballot, my e-mail address emerged as a winner
in the category "A" with the following numbers attached Reference Number: GP
14-M-246-04, Batch Number: 573881545-UK/2007 and Ticket Number: PP
3502-8707-01". Therefore I was going to receive a star prize of Two Million
Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (2,500,000.) from the total
payout. I would like to know if I am really a WINNER or this is just a SCAM
from people playing mind games. I had put my e-mail address and information
on JUBILEE game to enter for a second chance drawing for two $250,000 grand
prizes and twelve $25,000 prizes. I am currently in Argentina and I do not
have the ticket to confirm the Reference Number, Batch Number, and Ticket
Number, I would appreciated if you inform me if I am really a winner. Thank
You

Sincerely,
Kytzia Ewell

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam