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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:
  • "fiduciary 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.
  • +447011137049 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Andrew James <andrewjamesoffice324@yahoo.ie>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:32:21 +0100 (BST)
Subject: VERIFICATION AND CLEARANCE FORM



The Irish Lottery
P O Box 1010
11 G Lower Dorset Street,
Dublin 1, Ireland
(Customer Services)
Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369

ATTN:WINNER,

ONCE AGAIN WE OF THE IRISH LOTTERY STAFFS ARE CONGRATULATING YOU, AS ONE OF OUR EMERGED WINNER OF 450,000.00 EUROS FROM OUR LUCKY LOTTERY PROMOTION WHICH WILL SOON BE REMITTED TO YOU .PLEASE GET BACK TO US WITH THE UNDER-LISTED DETAILS TO FILE YOUR CLAIMS.

VERIFICATION AND CLEARANCE FORM
1.FULL NAMES:__________________________________
2.ADDRESS:_____________________________________________
____________________________________________
3.SEX:_______________
4.AGE:________
5.MARITAL STATUS:___________________
6.OCCUPATION:________________________
7.ANNUAL INCOME:________________________
8.E-MAIL ADDRESS:_____________________________
9.TELEPHONE NUMBER:_____________________
10.BATCH NUMBER:____________________ B. REF NUMBER:______________
11.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY/INDIVIDUAL___________
12.AMOUNT WON:___________________________________
___________________________________________
13. COUNTRY________________________________

Upon receipt of the duly requested data, I will send you the contact information of the payment office so you can proceed with effecting the release of your claim in anyway you deem fit.


Warm Regards,

MR Andrew James.
(FIDUCIARY AGENT).
Tel: +44 701113 7049

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam