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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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:

• 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:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • +447045707131 (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.
  • britishrevenuecommision@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: MR SIDNEY ZULA <sidneyzula07@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:32:07 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: CONTACT TAX OFFICE IMMEDIATELY.


Dear Ms Halag Thal,

All payment regarding the delivery of your winnings have been paid by the lottery board,but a hold have been placed by the British Inland Revenue Commission being that you are a non resident of the UK which have attracted a Tax/VAT fee of 710 Pounds which you have to pay so that the HOLD placed on your winnings will be removed then we can be able to authorise the UPS DELIVERY SERVICE to deliver your winnings to you without delay.

You have to contact them as soon as possible on how you will make your
payment with the information below:

Contact Name: Sir Allison Richard.
Deputy Commissioner.

British Inland Revenue Commision.
Office of the Commissioner,
Ground Floor,
286 Euston Road,
London NW1 3UH.

Tel: +44 704 570 7131
Fax:+44 7005-921-398
Email: britishrevenuecommision@yahoo.co.uk

Note: that your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before it has been remitted to you. This means that the above charges cannot be deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your prize is transferred to you.

This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the national gambling act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD july 1996 by the constitutional assembly.This is to protect winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds.

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim 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. Please be warned !!!

Congratulations and do have a nice day.

At Your Service,

Mr Sidney Zula.
Claims Agent.



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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam