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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:
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "22 garden close, stamford" (address often used in lottery scams)
  • "the bmw automobile company" (no such lottery exists)
• 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.
  • +447024038575 (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.
  • infomicrosoftbwm@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: bmw office <bmw2007aweness@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <infomicrosoftbwm@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 04:16:25 +0000
Subject: BMW INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS PROMOTION YOUR EMAIL ID WON PRIZES



THE INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS PROMOTION DEPARTMENT OF THE BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY.22 Garden Close, Stamford,Lincs, PE9 2YPLondonUnited Kingdom. The Board of Directors, members of staff and the International Awareness Promotion Department of the BMW Automobile Company, wishes to congratulate you on your success as one of our TEN(10) STAR PRIZE WINNER in this years' BMW Automobile International Awareness Promotion (IAP) held on WENSDAY 2ND of JUNE, 2007,in London.This makes you the proud owner of a brand new BMW 5 Series, M Sport Saloon car and a cash prize of &pound;750,000.00 GBP (Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great British pounds).Note: You are to keep your winnings and the following below strictly confidential so as to avoid double claims and complications:Reference Number: BMW:2551256003/23Ticket number: 5647600545188Serial number: BMWP/556543450906 For you to collect your prizes, kindly fill the verification form below and send it to the BMW Claims Manager, Mr. Thomas Hooper of our claims office through email, stating your receipt of this notification. He has been mandated to offer you assistance and facilitate the urgent delivery of your prizes.MR. THOMAS HOOPERBMW CLAIMS MANAGER,BMW CLAIMS HEAD OFFICE,THE BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY,UNITED KINGDOM.TEL: +447024038575EMAIL:infomicrosoftbwm@yahoo.co.uk VERIFICATION FORM:1.) FULL NAME: 2.) AGE: 3.) SEX: 4.) ADDRESS: 5.) ZIP/POSTAL CODE: 6.) STATE/PROVINCE: 7.) COUNTRY: 8.) PHONE: 9.) OCCUPATION/POSITION: 10.) COMPANY: 11.) EMAIL ADDRESS: 12.) TICKET NUMBER: 13.) SERIAL NUMBER:14.) REFERENCE NUMBER:BMW:2551256003/23 Congratulations once more, and keep trusting BMW Automobile for top quality automobiles.ENGR.LLOYD BRADFORDDIRECTOR OF PROMOTIONS,INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS PROMOTIONS,BMW AUTOMOBILE.LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM.THE BMW INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS PROMOTIONCOPYRIGHT &copy;2006. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam