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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")
  • "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• 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.
  • +27836840226 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • phillip-themba@excite.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • @yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: "yahoo lottery" <uklotodraw54@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 10:33:06 +0200
Subject: Congratulations Winning Notification

r

Messenger Yahoo! Lottery Results You won $820.000.00! Yahoo! Mail congratulates you!

Yahoo! Mail announce you as one of the 10 lucky winners in the ongoing  Yahoo Lottery Draw for the year, 2007. All 10 winning email addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 50,000,000 international emails each from Canada , Australia , United States , Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually,consequently, you have been approved for a total pay out of US$820,000.00  (EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND  UNITED STATES DOLLARS ).   This promotion takes place annually. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize.   This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have operational base. Further more your details(e-mail address) falls within our AFRICANS representative office, as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of  $820,000.00  will be released to you from this regional branch office in SOUTH AFRICA . HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE These are your identification numbers  Batch number.....................Lwh 09445  Lotto number.......................Lwh09446  Winning number...................Lwh09447 Yahoo!'s Agent for Notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement can be reached as follows: FIDUCIARY AGENT:   This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements. Please be warned. To file for your claim, please contact our corresponding agent in South Africa, through his email address or by tele stated below immediately you read this message for quick and urgent release of your fund, contact information is as follow: -   Barr. Phillip Themba and Associates Solicitors, Conveyancers and Notary Public Jan Smuts Rd 9 walters Ave Rose Bank Johannesburg, South Africa. TEL:     + 27 83 684 0226 Email: phillip-themba@excite.com Email:phillipthembalotouk@yahoo.co.uk   You are to send the completed verification form below to the our Agent in south africa  whose email address is given above so that you will be advised on what to do  to get your prize money. Congratulations once more!! 1. FULL NAME:................................................................ 2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:.............................................. 3. PRESENT ADRESS:..................................................... 4. DATE OF BIRTH:......................................................... 5. OCCUPATION:.............................................................. 6. TELEPHONE NUMBER:.............................................. 6. FAX NUMBER (IF ANY):.............................................. 7. MARITAL STATUS:...................................................... 8. DATE NOTIFIED:.......................................................... 10.AMOUNT WON:........................................................... For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this programme by non-selected winner or unofficial personnel.If you are not the intended recipient please notify the sender immediately on the telephone number given below and delete the message from all locations on your computer. You should not copy this email or use it for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person: to do so may be unlawful.   Congratulations once again from all our staffs and thank you for being part of our Promotions program.   Yours Sincerely   DR. Jenniffer Gray LOTTO CO-ORDINATOR. The Yahoo.com staff   Yahoo! Lottery    Results                                        Yahoo! Lottery is a free service that does not require you to register or be a Yahoo! registered user before winning.

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam