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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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• 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:
  • "greater london" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "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.
  • +447024077058 (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.
  • scarletagent_martinscoleman@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "MICROSOFT CORPORATION. UK" <winningnotification01@blueworld.co.za>
Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 16:45:52 +0200
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU HAVE WON E-MAIL LOTTERY PROMOTION


MICROSOFT CORPORATION
BALEY HOUSE, HAR ROAD SUTTON,
GREATER LONDON SM1 4TE.
UNITED KINGDOM.
REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L
BATCH: 4583JL/WIN
 
MICROSOFT E-MAIL LOTTERY PROMOTION: UNITED KINGDOM:

 
Finally, Today, we announce the results  of the MICROSOFT E-MAIL LOTTERY DRAWS held on March 6th, 2007. Your  E-mail address attached to winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100, With serial number 647489, consequently won in the Tenth category. Since the draw  was conducted through zonal batching of the emails sampled, and the globe was divided, in this instance, into two zones, You are hereby notified that your winning falls under Europe Zone, and hence you are to be paid by our European Payment Centre.

 
You havebeen approved for lump sums pay out of £550,000,000 British Pounds Sterling in Certified Cheque Credited to File REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number 11.26.28.34.44.34 Selection process was carried out through random sampling in our computerized E-mail selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of over 1,000,000 E-mail addresses drawn from all the continents of the world.
 
The online draws was conducted by a random selection of E-mail addresses from 29,031 lists of E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. No ticket were sold but all E-mail addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation. This is to encourage our prominent Microsoft Internet Explorer users all over the world, and for the  Continuing use of E-mail facilities.

 
Your fund has been insuredwith your REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number 11.26.28.34.44.34. To claim your winning prize, You are to contact the AFFILIATE PAYING AGENCY by E-mail below for remittance of your prize to you.
SCARLET SECURITY AGENCY
658 Ajax Avenue Slough Berkshire SL1 4BG.
Microsoft Claims unit.
Officer In Charge:  Rv. Martins Coleman
E-mail: scarletagent_martinscoleman@yahoo.co.uk
Direct Tel. +447024077058
In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and winning numbers in all correspondences with your claims officer. You are to keep all lotto information away from the general publicespecially your winning serial, and file reference numbers.
This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained.
 
NOTE THAT YOU ARE TO INCLUDE ALL THE DATA BELOW WHEN CONTACTING THE PAYMENT AGENT:
1.Full Name:.............................................................
2.Address:................................................................
3.Nationality:...........................................................
4.Sex:...................................................................
5.Age:.........................Date of Birth:............................
6.Occupation:............................................................
7.Home Tel:..........Mobile Tel:................Fax:.................
8.State ofOrigin:.....................Country:.......................
9Your File Ref No: ...............................................
10.Indicate the zone where your winning falls.....................
                                                          
                     
Dr.MONICA SHAGAYA                                       
Online Co-ordinator                                              

____________________________________________________________________________________
                Note;
You are to contact Affiliate Paying Agency  in charge immediately by E-mail. Microsoft Electronic E-Mail Lottery is approved and Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam