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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• 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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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: lily clinton <lily.clinton04@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2007 21:07:31 +0000
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?=AEBMW_MOTOR=AE.(Contact_us_now)?=


®BMW MOTOR®. An Affiliate of BMW UK. 28 TANFIELD ROAD, LONDON, UK. AWARD NOTIFICATION®. We are pleased to inform you of the release, of the long awaited results of the BMW CAR INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION PROGRAM held on the 3rd June, 2007.You were entered as dependent clients with: Ticket number:2752246896 and Secret pin code x7pwyz2007. Your email address drew the lucky winning number, which consequently won the sweepstake in the first category, in four parts. You have been approved for a payment of £450,000.00 (four hundred and fifty thousand Great British Pounds) in cash credited to file reference number:BMW:2551256003/23 And a brand new BMW 5 Series Car. This is from a total cash prize of Ten million Pounds shared among all our international winners in all categories.
Congratulations!!! All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 50,000 (Fifty thousand) names of email users around the world, as part of our international promotion program. Due to mixed up of some names and addresses, we ask that you keep this award personal, till your claims has been processed and your funds remitted to you. This is a part of our security measures to avoid double claiming or unwarranted participants or imposters, taking advantage of the situation. You are to contact your our-accredited agent for your claim now. Miss. Sarah WentworthBMW CLAIMING SECURITY AGENCY. Email: sarah.wentworth@yahoo.co.ukYou are also advised to provide her with the under listed information as soon as possible: 1.Name in full ----------------------------------- 2.Address ---------------------------------------- 3. Nationality ----------------------------------- 4.Age -------------------------------------------- 5.Occupation ------------------------------------- 6.Phone/Fax -------------------------------------- 7.Present Country -------------------------------- 8.Short comment on our products. [optional] ------ 9.Male/female ------------------------------------ 10.Fax [optional] -------------------------------- 11.Annual Income --------------------------------- She is your agent, and She is responsible for the processing and transfer of your winnings to you. YOUR SECURITY FILE NUMBER BMW:2551256003/23 (keep personal) Remember, your winning must be claimed on time (atleast 1-2weeks) . Failure to claim your prizes (CASH) would result to forfeiting and will be used for next 10,000,000 Pounds international lottery program. Furthermore, should there be any change in your contact address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible. Once again congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yours Sincerely, Mrs. Lily Clinton Have Fun,
The BMW MOTOR CO.LIMITED® Team
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam