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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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• 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:
  • "fiduciary 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.
  • +447011122016 (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.
  • britishnationalonlinelottery@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: BRITISH LOTTERY <contactimsofficer@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: contact.claimsofficer@yahoo.co.uk
Date: 26 Mar 2007 11:54:46 +0200
Subject: CONGRATULATION CONTACT MR.WILLIAMS SPENCER FOR YOUR CLAIMS

Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit


PROMOTIONS PRIZE
AWARD DEPARTMENT.
60 Merriman Road Blackheath
London SE3 8RZ England.

Europe/America private international e-games organizers and
co-sponsors, BRITISH LOTTERY, officially bring to your notice the final
draw result of MARCH 2007 BRITISH LOTTERY-wheel E-game which was conducted
at our international corporate office complex in The United Kingdom, You
have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of (One Million,
Three Hundred Thousand Pounds).
Please contact the fiduciary agent for more informations on how to
claim your funds.

Name: Dr. Williams Spencer
E-mail:britishnationalonlinelottery@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: (+44) 701 112 2016
Fill the Below informations and send to the fiduciary agent for your
claims verification:
Full Legal Name:...
phone:...................
Address:................
Sex....................
Ocuupation:............
Country:...............
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Lewis Braxton,
Executive (International Sweepstakes).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam