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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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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:
  • "claims 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.
  • +447031940246 (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.
  • deliverydept441@yahoo.it

Fraud email example:

From: "MRS JANE WELLS" <WEBDNXIEV401@prodigy.net>
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:08:01 -0800
Subject: AWARD NOTIFICATION FINAL NOTICE

AWARD NOTIFICATION FINAL NOTICE
Good day! My name is salter wells, the prize director
representing the International Lottery Corporation's
Un-Claimed Department. On Febuary 10 2007 at
approximately 3:45pm, I tried contacting you, but
unfortunately was unable to get a hold of you. The
main reason for electronically mailing you this letter
is to inform you of the reason for my call. Every year
we receive over 5,000 entry forms from different
lottery players from around the world. Precisely
speaking, I was just looking at our network to find
out that you were selected as a prize winner on
Febuary 7 2007 and you havn't claimed your winnings,
for the sum of 980.000
GREAT BRITIAN POUNDS Usually when a winner doesn't
claim their money there should be a note that says why
the winner has not claimed their money, and the client
file will be closed. So I am mailing in regards to
know why you have not made any effort to claim your
money. You have 980,000 thousand gbp sitting here,
waiting for you. I dont know why somebody will wait
that long to claim their money?? if we did not hear
from you within 3 weeks from the day this letter was
sent, your file will close and you will no longer be
able to claim your winnings. So congratulations once
again. for more information concerning your winnings,
please contact your Claims Agent .

Mrs monica foster
EMAIL: deliverydept441@yahoo.it
http://www.national-lottery.co.uk

Due to security precautions, we advise that you keep
your winning information confidential until your claim
has been processed and you have received your
certified bank cheque of $ 980.000 thousand gbp paid
out to you. This is part of our security protocol to
avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this
program
by some participants.
YOU ARE HEREBY AVICE TO FILL THIS DATA TO CLARIFY IF
YOU ARE THE RIGTH PERSON THAT WON THE AWARD
1. Name
2. DATE OF BIRTH
3. SEX:
4. MARITAL STATUS:
5.CONTACT ADDRESS
6.TELEPHONE NUMBER:
7.OCCUPATION:
8.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
COMPANY

REF NO: PDP/2670198402/03
LUCKY NUMBER:22 26 38 39 41 42 (08)
TICKET NO:56475600545 188
SERIAL NO:5368/02
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
TEL :+447031940246
FAX :+448717224893

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam