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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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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:

• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Edward Lopez" <internationalremittance22@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 19:52:17 +0100 (BST)
Subject: FOR YOUR URGENT ATTENTION.


STAR MEGA BUCKS AWARD DEPARTMENT
151 Canada Square, Canary Wharf,
London E14 5DY, United Kingdom.

Dear Winner,
I understand why you are so keen on this issue, as to it's authenticity. Well this is true, and you have just won, 350,000.00 Pounds Sterling, and your payment, will be issued to you in a Certified Draft, once you provide us with the requested datas, as it is with the said datas that we shall use to process your immediate payment.

Let me also clarify you, that there are a lot of scam lotteries going on, but i tell you this is not one of them. Just wait, and when you get your funds, you will be glad you did not miss this opportunity, but if you feel you want to pass on this, then kindly let me know, so we can provide you with our disclaimers form, and that will mean you do not want your funds.

But if you feel that you want to collect your funds from us, then we will need you to provide us with the following datas:

Your Full Names:
Your full Contact Address:
Your Country of Residence:
Your Date and Place of Birth:
Your Occupation:
Your contact Telephone Numbers:
Your contact Fax Number:
Your Ticket Number:
Your Amount Won:
Your e-mail Address:

I will await your decission.

Once again, Congratulations, once more from the entire Management and Staff of STAR MEGA BUCKS AWARD DEPARTMENT to all our lucky winners.

Thank you for being part of this promotional lottery program.

Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically Disqualified.

Best Regards,
Finela Williams
(Management).
London, United Kingdom.

BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF THE WINNERS WILL RESULT TO DISQUALIFICATION.


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam