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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
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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "first national bank" (not involved with lotteries)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claim 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.
  • +27768654877 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: FLASH FORTUNE LOTTERY <fflsa_2174@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:26:50 +0200
Subject: VERIFICATION FORM ATTACHED



ATTN: WINNER, We have received all your winning details and after going through our central computer we discovered that you are the right winner of the said amount, and we have booked you for the next batch to be paid starting from 25th of JUNE 2007. We have deposited your fund in an account with FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA for security. This is a temporary account and will be terminated if funds are not claimed within the specified period of 21 work days. You are hereby required to complete and return the form below for processing of your Award Certificate. This Certificate is your only proof of Prize Award and you will be required to present it to the Bank before your fund can be transfered to you. Further information shall be provided to you on your return of this form. NOTE: I strongly advise you keep your winnings information from public notice until the successful transfer of your fund to your designated account. Please provide the following informationto your claim agent DR JOHAN HAINS EMAIL johanhains@yahoo.comTELL +27 76 865 4877 Reference Number...................................................Batch......................................................................... My Personal Information Full name.........................................................................Address..................................................................................................................................................................Age.................................................................................Sex.................................................................................Telephone #.....................................................................Fax #:.............................................................................E-mail address.................................................................Date of birth.....................................................................Marital Status...................................................................Occupation......................................................................__________________________________________________ Regards, Mrs Nomusa Dlamini( Claim Dept Secretary )
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam