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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:

• 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)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
  • ",000,000" (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)
• 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.
  • +31617683918 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • infowebexagent@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: HARRY SMITH <w.bex7@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <infowebexagent@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2007 04:21:27 -0400
Subject: YOUR WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR USING THE INTERNET.



FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORLDWIDE INTERNET USER LOTTERY PRIZE AWARD DEPT.Dear Internet User,
YOUR WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR USING THE INTERNET.
I am pleased to inform you that one of the best things that can happen to any Internet user is to be rewarded for spending money and time on the Internet. You may not have known that over one hundred billion people daily surf the Internet on regular basis for one reason or other. These Internet users including yourself, pay access fees to various Internet Service Providers (ISP) all over the word who in turn remit surplus funds to the numerous World Wide Internet Technology Companies (WWITC) for the development and advancement of Global Information Technology.
After the automated computer ballot, your E-mail address emerged as a winner in the category "A" with the following numbers attached Ref Number: PW EH 9590 OG 0612,Batch Number: PA 563881545-NL/2007You and other category "A" winners are therefore to receive a cash prize of Two Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($2.5,000,000.00) respectively from the total payout of One Billion US Dollars earmarked in the lottery for category "A" winners. Your prize award has been insured with your E-mail address, which qualified you for the lottery and will be transferred to you upon meeting our requirements, statutory obligations, verifications, validations and satisfactory proof of E-mail address ownership. To file in for the processing of your money, you are advised to contact our certified and accredited claims agent for category "A" winners with the information below: CLAIMS AGENT.Name: Harry SmithPhone: +31-61-7683918Email: infowebexagent@yahoo.com.hk You will provide him with the following information:First name:Last Name:Telephone/Fax number:Nationality:Age: Occupation:NOTE: All winnings must be claimed not later than 14 days, thereafter unclaimed funds would be forfeited after a trio repeated forwarding of this message to you without your response. Remember to quote your reference information in all correspondence. (Ref No: PW EH 9590 OG 0612, Batch No: PA 563881545-NL/2007),
Congratulations! Thank you for being a user of the World Wide Web. Yours Faithfully, Marry JonesLottery Coordinator.Thank you and congratulations!!!
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam