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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:
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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "yahoo lottery inc" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "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. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. )
• 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.
  • +447045700888 (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.
  • revfrjohnpalenberg@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "yahoo lotterty" <bateresult17@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 18:35:50 -0700
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS ! ! ! YOUR E-MAIL ID HAS WON YAHOO LOTTERY BETA AWARD 2007.

This is to inform you that you have Won a Prize Money of  THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS ($300,000.00) for the year 2007 LOTTERY PROMOTION which was organized by YAHOO LOTTERY INC for the introduction of the new YAHOO BETA MAIL which all YAHOO users are required to switch onto.   YAHOO & MICROSOFT WINDOWS,arrange and gather all the e-mail addresses of  the people that are active online,among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and Hotmail, and others we only select FIVE (5) candidate per annually as our Winner's throught Electronic Balloting System (E.B.S) without the candidate applying,we congratulate you  for being one of the people selected .                                                PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM We are sorry that your Payment Approval File was sent to Africa due to we have 3 lucky winners in Africa so that you can be cleared and paid simultaneously there. You are to contact your Claims Agent   before your date of Claim.   Yahoo Beta Lottery Prize must be claimed  ( 1Month  ) from date of Draw Notification after the Draw date in which Prize has won.   Note :Any prize not claimed within this period ( 1 Mounth ) will be forfeited .    These are your identification numbers:   Batch number.....................YBM-EBS-390AF Reff number........................YBM-EBS-719AF Winning number...............YBM-EBS-798AF These numbers above fall within the African agent's Location file, you are requested to contact your claims agent  and send your Identification Numbers and Personal Information to hem for more verifications.    REV.FATHER JOHN PALENBERG at his email:   E-mail: revfrjohnpalenberg@hotmail.com     Phone: +447045700888   You are therefore advised to send your following information to hem to enable him facilitate and process the transfer of your fund with the appointed paying bank.   Send your identification Numbers/Your personal Information to your Claims Agent immediately .                                              PERSONAL INFORMATIONS 1.FULL NAME ....   2.COUNTRY ......   3.CONTACT ADDRESS .....   4.TELEPHONE NUMBER ....   5.FAX NUMBER ..........   6.MARITAL STATUS ......   7.OCCUPATION ..........   8.AGE .................   9.SEX .................   10.NATIONALITY ........   CONGRATULATIONS ONCE AGAIN.   YOURS IN SERVICE,

We hope you're enjoying your new Yahoo! Mail account. Now take the next step and claim your money and say thanks to Yahoo!. You select how to transfer the prize money to you: Cheque Delivery To Your Address Bank Account Transfer Diplomatic Means NOTE: NOBODY WILLTOUCH YOUR MONEY FOR ANY REASON AND AN AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BANK BY THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF NIGERIA, BEFORE THE BANK CAN RELEASE YOUR MONEY.

See what's happening on Yahoo.com today. Do you Yahoo!?

If you have questions or wish to claim your prize money kindly contact your claims agent see the instructions at the body of this message Email at revfrjohnpalenberg@hotmail.com .

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam