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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.

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:
  • "cost of mailing your draft" (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "payment for the courier" (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT is 17.5% in the UK but 5% in Nigeria)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. )
• 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.
  • +447011137543 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: GLOBAL EXPRESS <globalexpressoffice101@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 08:32:46 +0100 (BST)
Subject: GLOBAL EXPRESS COURIER SERVICES INT. (COST OF DELIVERY)





GLOBAL EXPRESS COURIER SERVICES INT.

4th,JUNE 2007


ATTENTION:Orbart Weiss,

Compliments of the day to you.
your cheque will be couried to the bank for final payment.
You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you. With regards to this, there are two options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the two.
The options, together with their associated conditions are presented below:

Option 1:

Courier of your winning draft to you via any of this channel listed below:

First class delivery:48 hours
Mailing..............................................£300.00
Insurance.........................................£250.00
Vat (5%)...........................................£100.00
TOTAL.............................................£.650.00
TIME OF DELIVERY.............................48 HOURS

Premium class delivery:72 hours Mailing ........................................... £200.00
Insurance.......................................... £150.00
Vat (5%).......................................... £150.00
TOTAL............................................. £550.00
TIME OF DELIVERY..................................72HOURS

Normal class delivery: 120 hours
Mailing ;............................................£200.00
Insurance..........................................£150.00
Vat (5%)..............................................£50.00
TOTAL.................................................£400.00
TIME OF DELIVERY...................................120 HOURS

The insurance company declined reverse payment for the courier, stating that it is against their professional policy towards ensuring the safe delivery of the draft to you. That if a reverse payment is made, and something goes wrong, that we/you cannot sue the courier
company or insurance company to recover the full value of the fund as stipulated in the draft since payment for insurance cover was not made at point of mailing.
With the above reason, reverse payment is ruled out.Forward the cost of mailing your draft with any of the courier channel cost you choose above to us.

Option 2:

The said amount claim £420,000.00 (FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND POUND STERLING) would be wired to your bank account via swift bank transfer.Condition: The cost of COT (commission of transfer) being charged by our transferring bank, which is (i.e £1000) of the cash being transferred will be paid by you.
Note that your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before it has been remitted to you. This means that the above charges cannot be deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your prize is transferred to you.
Please respond to this email by making a selection from the two options above.
Also attach a scanned copy of either your driver's licence, international passport (photo page) or any other legally identifying document.

Also be reminded that the deadline for the claiming of winnings is exactly one week after the receipt of this email. After this period, your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be re-used in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery.

Good luck and Congratulations once again. Please send your response within the next 24hrs to this same email address.

Mr. Frank Harry
Management

Global Express Courier Service Int.
Open 7days-8AM-11PM-365days a year
+447011137543


Global Express COURIER INT.
Unit N 103 Westminister Business Square
Durham St
London
SE11 5JN,










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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam