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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
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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "advocaat" (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!
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
• 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.
  • advocaatjacoh_ass@myway.com

Fraud email example:

From: BONIFAAS BONIFAAS <heritagepro191@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 16:34:02 +0100
Subject: YOUR LOTTERY WINNING ACKNOWLEDGE.



YOUR LOTTERY WINNING ACKNOWLEDGE. HERITAGE LOTTO PROMOTION /AUTHORIZE BY THE EUROPEAN LOTTERY BOARD. EURO MILLIONS GAMES INTERNATIONAL JAN WILLEM FRISOLAAN 3 2517JS DEN HAAG THE NETHERLANDS DATE: 4-06-2007EMAIL ACCOUNT TICKET NO: 11107550ABNL ATTENTION: EMAIL ACCOUNT OWNER. We are glad to inform you that your E-mail address appears as the confirmed Winner of the [HERITAGE LOTTO] email lottery program held on (FRIDAY THE 1ST OF JUNE 2007) in the Netherlands. Your e-mail address attached to Reference number 216-365-787 lucky numbers 32-15-54-35-47, which consequently won in the 2nd category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum payment of One Million Five Hundred Thousand (1.5M) Euros only in this year promotion. CONGRATULATIONS!!! This promtion (HERITAGE LOTTO EMAIL PROMOTION) takes place every year. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system from over 200,000 companies and 50,000, 000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications please remember to quote your reference number and lucky numbers in all correspondence. We ask that you should keep your winning information confidential until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to you. To file for your claim or for further details please contact our /your agent: NAME: BARRISTER JACO VAN HAGEN: 0031 (0) 619 050 215Email: advocaatjacoh_ass@myway.com (or) heritage2007_jaco@myway.comIn respect of our commitment towards helping the less privileged, we ask that you voluntarily contribute 1% of your Global winnings to any charity organization you desire at your convenience. NOTE; that all winning must be claimed not later than 14 working days from the day you receive this email. Congratulations once more from our members of staff. YOURS SINCERELY, MRS ALFONS BONIFAAS.FOR HERITAGE LOTTO INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION.This email and its attachments are confidential and may contain legally privileged information. You should not disclose the contents to any other person. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email from your system.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam