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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:
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "to your nominated bank account" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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 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.
  • viaeuroafro22bg@yahoo.com
  • euroafro_bg222@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: williams bregman <euroafro01@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 00:39:36 +0100
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION.



HEAD OFFICEEURO-AFRO SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY NL.BURDENSTREET 21B1053 DS AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS.FROM: THE DESK OF THE MANAGING DIRECTORINTERNATIONAL PROMOTION PRIZE AWARD DEPT.REF:HWS/2002292201/06BATCH:19/204/JJS. ATTENTION: Lucky winner ( ),WINNING NOTIFICATION. We are pleased to inform you about the release of theEURO-AFRO SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY INTERNATIONALPROGRAMS HELD ON THE 6th of October 2005,your nameattached to ticket number:677-4834490301 with serialnumber 6599/04 drew the lucky numbers :4-33-26-40-56-78,which consequently won the lottery in the 2nd category.You have therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of USD$1MILLIONin cash credited to file HWS/2001183308/06. This is from a total cash prize of USD$10MILLION sharedamong the ten international lucky winners in this category.Furthermore, your lucky winning number falls within ourAfrican booklet representative office in Lagos, Nigeriaas indicated in your play coupon.In view of this, your USD$1,000,000.00[ONE MILLION USDollars would be released to you by our banker,UNION BANK PLC.CONGRATULATION.YOUR Fund has been therefore deposited withour banker in your name from where it would bereleased to your nominated bank account. Due to the mixed up of some numbers and names, we askthat you keep this a top secret from the public notice untilyour claim has been processed and your money remittedto your account as this is part of the security protocolsto avoid double claiming or unwarranted taking advantage ofthis programs by participants. All participants were selected through a computerballot system drawn from 25,000 company emailaddresses and 30,000,000 individual email addressesfrom Australia, New Zealand, America, Europe, NorthAmerica and Asia as part of International PromotionsProgram, which is conducted annually. To begin your claim, you should first acknowledgereceipt of this notification through the above emailaddress. Endeavor to include your full recent contactaddress, telephone/fax number and your bank accountdetails(be rest assured all information given is held inconfidence by members of our staff at all times),where you want this fund transferred to whilereplying this notification. As soon as you confirm receipt of thisnotification, you shall be advised /directed onhow to contact the paying bank for processing andremittance of your fund to your nominated bank account.Remember, all winning must be claim not later than 31st MARCH 2006 AFTER THIS DATE ALL IS RETURNED AS UNCLAIMED. NOTE BEFORE:In order to avoid unnecessary delays andcomplications, please remember to quoteyour reference and batch numbers in everycorrespondence. Furthermore, should there be any change ofaddress, do inform us as soon as possible.PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THIS MAIL BY SENDING IN YOUR REPLY VIAeuroafro22bg@yahoo.com OR euroafro_bg222@yahoo.com this is for better service.Congratulations again from all members of our staffand thank you for being part of our promotion program. Sincerely Yours, Williams Bregman,MANAGING DIRECTORINTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONPRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam