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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "greater london" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • +447011121672 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • msnwindowslive2@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: "ONLINE YAHOO MSN PROMOTION" <MSOLS01@prodigy.net>
Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2007 07:19:01 -0800
Subject: YAHOO/MICROSOFT PROMOTIONS {CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A WINNER!!!}

Yahoo/Msn Lottery
Incorporation
Baley House, Har Road
Sutton, Greater London SM1 4te United Kingdom.

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money
of Five hundred thousand, Great Britain Pound Sterlings
(£500,000.00) for this month 2007 Lottery promotion
which is organized by YAHOO/MSN
LOTTERY INC & WINDOWS LIVE.

YAHOO/MSN & MICROSOFT WINDOWS, collects all the email
addresses of the people that are active online, among
the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and Hotmail.We
only select five people every Month as our
winners through electronic balloting System without
the winner applying,we congratulate you for being one
of the people selected.

You are to contact the events manager on or before
your date of Claim, Winners Shall be paid in
accordance with his/her Settlement Centre.
Yahoo/Msn Lottery Prize must be claimed no later than
20 days from date of Draw Notification after the Draw
date in which Prize has won. Any prize not claimed
within this period will be forfeited.

These are your identification numbers:

Batch number.....................YM 09102XN
Reff number.......................YM35447XN
Winning number...................YM09788

These numbers fall within your Location file, you are
requested to contact the events manager, send your
winning identification numbers to him,to enable him
verify your claims.How ever you will have to fill and
submit this form to the events manager for
verification & direction on
how you can claim your winning fund.

1. Full name..............
2. Contact Address........
3. Age....................
4. Telephone Number.......
5. Marital Status.........
6. Sex....................
7. Zip Code...............
8. Occupation.............
9. Company................
11.State:.................
12.Country................
13.Nationality............
14. Your Reference and Batch number at the top of this
mail:

(CONTACT EVENTS MANAGER)
Name:Mr.Ramson White
Email:msnwindowslive2@yahoo.co.uk
TEL:+447011121672

Thank you and Accept my hearty congratulations once
again!

Yours faithfully,
Mrs.Florina Bent
(Yahoo/Msn Lottery Games/Lottery Coordinator).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam