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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:

• 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 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.
  • trustclaims@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: cohen@csilvia.orangehome.co.uk
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2007 16:14:27 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: DEAR LUCKY WINNER ! CLAIM YOUR WINNING PRIZE


GOOGLE EMAIL LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
WORLD INTERNET LOTTO CENTRE
EASTERN AVE 6528.
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION / PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
PROMOTING INTERNET USAGE OVER THE GLOBE
(WE ENCOURAGE GLOBALIZATION)
Dear Lucky Winner,
Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the results of the First Category draws of E-MAIL LOTTERY organised by GOOGLE INTERNATIONAL. We are happy to inform you that your email address have emerged a winner of One Million (1,000,000.00) Euro, which is the winning payout for Category A winners. This is from the total prize money of Two Million (2,000,000.00) Euro shared among the 2 winners in this category.
Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 email addresses of individuals and companies from Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania as part of our International Promotions Program.
Your fund is now deposited with the paying Bank. In your best interest to avoid mix up of numbers and names of any kind, we request that you keep the entire details of your award strictly from public notice until the process of transferring your claims has been completed, and your funds remitted to your account.
NOTE: to file for your claim, please contact the claim department below on email.
***********************************************
Contact Person:
Mr.George Paniou,
Trust Claims Agency.TEL:+30-694-092-9118
Email:trustclaims@aim.com
THINOS 73, 10722, ATHENS GREECE
**********************************************
Find below your promotion date, Reference and Batch numbers. Remember to quote these numbers in your correspondence with your claims agent.
PROMOTION DATE: 5TH of April 2007.
REFERENCE NUMBER: LSLUK/2031/8161/07. BATCH NUMBER: 15/051/IPD
Congratulations once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program.
Sincerely Yours,
MRS.JENNIFER COHEN.
THE PROMOTION COORDINATOR.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam