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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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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!
• 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.
  • +31619705298 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: NETHERLAND EMAIL LOTTERY <netherland83@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2007 05:26:55 -0600
Subject: GOVERNMENT ACCREDITED LICENSED LOTTERY PROMOTERS.



GOVERNMENT ACCREDITED LICENSED LOTTERY PROMOTERS.NOTICE FOR CATEGORY \"A\" WINNER

Dear Winner,RE: LOTTO INTERNATIONAL NL PROMOTION PRIZE AWARDSWINNING NOTIFICATION
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the justconcluded annual final draws of Lotto InternationalNetherlands programs. The online cyber lotto draws wasconducted from an exclusive list of 25,000 e-mailAddresses of individual and corporate bodies picked byan advanced automated random computer search from theinternet. No tickets were sold. After this automatedcomputer ballot, your e-mail address emerged as one oftwo winners in the category \"A\" with the following:

Ref Number: PC 607 ES 208Batch Number: 26371545-LNI/2006Ticket Number: PCP 002 871

You as well as the other winner are therefore toreceive a cash prize of EUR 1,500,000.00.each from thetotal payout. Your prize award has been insured withyour e-mail address and will be transferred to youupon meeting our requirements, statutory,verifications, and satisfactory report. To begin theclaims processing of your prize winnings you areadvised to contact our licensed claims agent forcategory \"A\"winners with the information below:
Mrs. Mary HansE-mail: maryhans02@yahoo.comPhone: +31 619 705 298Department Director,Netherlands Lottery InternationalAmsterdam, the Netherlands
Yours faithfully,Mrs. Agatha DeBoer,Lotto International Netherlands
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam