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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.

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:
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +447045728189 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • agent_felixdub_auslotto@yahoo.com.au (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Felix Duberry <agent_felixdub_auslotto@yahoo.com.au>
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 21:53:35 +1000 (EST)
Subject: CLAIMS PROCESS.


Australia Lottery Regional Payment Bureau
2 Monks Court
Powers Hall End
Witham Essex, CM8 1LP.
United Kingdom
Tel : +447045728189
Email: agent_felixdub_auslotto@yahoo.com.au


Dear Lucky Winner,

Willmarr Pfeffmann,

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your mail. I wish to officially congratulate you on behalf of the Australia International Lottery Inc. on your award and prize win of £500,000.00 (Five hundred thousand pounds sterling) in the second quarter edition of 2007 Australia International Online Sweepstakes Lottery. A program organized quarterly and sponsored by a conglomerate of companies in Australia as way of discharging their social responsibilities to the people where they have operational base.

In order to process your claim, you are required to make the following information available to us.

Your full names
Full contact Address
Date of birth
Nationality.
Telephone No.
Sex
Occupation
Winning No
Batch No
Ref. No
Date of draw.

I urge you to send the requested information immediately so that your winning prize will be processed and your winning prize transferred to you.

However, you are strictly advised to keep your winning and your winning information to yourself until your winning is processed and your money transferred to you. This is one of our security protocols to forestall the cases of impersonation and double claiming that we experience.

Call me immediately you receive this mail.

Congratulations once again!!

Felix Duberry,
Regional claims agent.


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How would you spend $50,000 to create a more sustainable environment in Australia? Go to Yahoo!7 Answers and share your idea.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam