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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:

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "insurance fee " (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT is 17.5% in the UK but 5% in Nigeria)
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "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.
  • +447031849739 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: EXPRESS SHIPPING AGENCY <globalexpress@courierdeliverycompany.com>
Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 21:26:15 +0000
Subject: DELIVERY CHARGES OPTIONS



GLOBAL EXPRESS COURIER
12 ABBOT PARK ROAD, SE2 1EP
LONDON
Tel-+447031849739,
ATTENTION: Wilford Herzgen,

FROM CLAIMS PROCESSING DEPARTMENT

I am in receipt of your email and I want you to be informed that you have been officially cleared for payment by the Claims Department at the headquarters of the UK National Lottery.
You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you. With regards to this, there are two options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the two.
The original copy of your certificate and your cheque from the British government stating that the money was obtained legally through their National Lotto will be sent to you and the bank as soon as you meet with any of the option selected and your winnings will be couriered or transferred to you immediately.
The options, together with their associated conditions are presented below:

OPTION 1: Courier of your winning draft to you via any of this channel listed below:
FedEx(2working days)Mailing &n bsp;.......................£250.00 Insurance.............................£250.00Vat (5%)..............................£044.00
=============================TOTAL.................................£525.00

UPS(3working days)Mailing &n bsp;.......................£205.00 Insurance.............................£250.00Vat (5%)..............................£038.00
===========================TOTAL.................................£477.75

(Dhl-3days) Mailing-------------------£133.00 Insurance ----------------£250.00Vat (5%) ----------------£19.15========================TOTAL -----------------£402.15

OPTION 2:Transfer of your prize money to your designated bank account via our affiliate bank here in the UK.
The cost of COT (commission of transfer) being charged by the transferring bank, which is (£1,200GBP) of the cash being transferred will be paid by you(winner) and also the Insurance fee of (£420GBP). The total amount of the required charges is £1,620.
To ensure and provide a professional cover over the delivery of your parcel (winning package) or transfer prize money, the insurance cover has been provided for you. This option allows for full responsibility of the courier company or the bank on all issues concerning the delivery of winning package or the transfer of your winning funds. If we do not ensure this option and something goes wrong with your winning package, a reverse payment cannot be made and the courier company or the bank cannot be sued by either us or you to recover the full value of the funds as stipulated in the draft because this option was not taken at the point of mailing or transfer.
Note that your prize money is protected by a hardcover insurance policy by GEOTRUST INSURANCE COMPANY, 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 your prize money and hence must be provided by you before your prize is transferred to you.
If you are choosing to go by the bank option, you are required to send us a scanned copy of your valid identification which bears your photograph and full names,this is to open a temporary account for you were your funds will be transferred from. (suitable forms of identification include,international passports or drivers licence or state identity cards).The following information of the designated bank account which you wish the funds to be transferred to will be required.
NAME OF BANK.BANK ADDRESS.NAME OF ACCOUNT.ACCOUNT TYPE.ACCOUNT NUMBER.ABA/ROUTING ID NUMBER.
If you choosing the courier option to facilitate the identification of you by the courier company, when delivering your winning package it is required of you to send to me a valid identification ie a scanned copy of your driver's license, international passport (photo page) or any other legally identifying document This will ensure that you are effectively handled by the courier company in all dealings.
Also be reminded that the deadline for the claiming of winnings is exactly two weeks after the receipt of this email. After this period, your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be reused in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery.
And your Winning Certificate is attach to this mail with your full name. Good luck and Congratulations once again.Warm Regards,

Mr. George Hilton,
Administrative.
Tel: +447031849739

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam