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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • colsteve0@aol.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: "Col.Steve Hanks" <colsteve0@aol.co.uk> (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 19:43:59 +0200
Subject: Hi


Dear Sir,
I have managed to sneak out this email to you from my confinement here
in one of our military bases in Germany.My name is Col.Steve Hanks of The
US Army. I was based in Iraq until recently,I was sent back to Germany in
Oct.,2004 because of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal in which I was
unfortunately implicated.I am still under House Arrest,pending the
outcome of investigation.During my sojourn in Iraq, I was able to
successfully smuggle US$ 11.7m out of Iraq to a location in Europe. I
reckoned that being a soldier I would not be in the best position to give
a satisfactory account of how I came about such an amount of money.I could
therefore not conclude the proccess of securing the money before I was
apprehended as I was at a loss about into which account one could pay it
and that is where your assistance comes in. I have resolved to share the
total sum with you in the fairest ratio that we shall both agree on as
settlement for your own part of the deal.Please,ponder over this and feed
me back as I am in dire need of your assistance at this time.Please, send
me your private contact info. in order to facilitate an easier and more
private correspondence between us.I must assure you that this will not
expose you to any risk as all the possible risk has been foreseen and
taken care of. I must also remind you that transaction of this magnitude
and nature is to be handled carefully in order for both of us to be well
protected. I shall send you more details as soon as I hear from you.I
implore you to really consider this offer and feed me back. Also let me
know how you wish to be settled for your role in the business. Reply to
colsteve0@aol.co.uk i await your response with much optimism.
Thanks in advance,
Best Regards
Col.Steve Hanks

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam