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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
• 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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
• 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.
  • +447092869036 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +447045712140 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: TNT COURIER SERVICE <tntoffice@tntcourier-uk.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:51:54 +0000
Subject: ATTN:Alois Gersten, DELIVERY OPTIONS/ MODE OF PAYMENT






TNT EXPRESS COURIER SERVICE COMPANY.
Address: TNT Express House Holly Lane Atherstone Warwickshire CV9 2RY United Kingdom. TELEPHONE: +44 704 571 2140
28TH JUNE, 2007.
Reg order no: FLP22589420


ATTENTION: ALOIS GERSTEN

This is to inform you that you have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters of The Free Lottery Sweepstake International Promo.

The original copy of this certificate from the British Government stating that the money was obtained legally through The Free Lottery Sweepstake Internatonal promo and will be sent to you or your bank as soon as you meet with any of the options selected and your winnings will be couriered or transferred to you immediately.

You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you either in Cash/Cheque.

With regards to this, there are three options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the three.
===================================Delivery Information/ Parcel Description---------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivery Terms: .............. International DeliveryConsignment Note No: ......... XBN103940394-00Colour of Parcel: ............ Brown Total Weight: ................ 1.02gTotal Net Weight: ............ 3.07g===================================
The options, together with their associated conditionsare presented below: OPTIONS:Courier of your winning draft to you via any of thischannel listed below: Option:1TNT EXPRESS DELIVERY (Overnight)Mailing ;................................£60.00Insurance..............................£214.00Vat (5%)................................£026.00TOTAL..................................£300.00=====or===$590.91 Option:2TNT PREMIUM SERVICE(2working days)Mailing................................. £72.00Insurance..............................£158.00Vat (5%).................................£012.95TOTAL.................................. £242.00=====or===$476.69 Option:3TNT REGULAR SERVICE(4working days)Mailing ;................................£32.00Insurance..............................£85.00Vat (5%)................................£010.00TOTAL.................................£127.00=====or===$250.16

MODE OF PAYMENT
The charges are a little bit high because of the Hardcover insurance Policy we have undertaken incase of loss,Damage or Theft of your highly sensitive document and funds. We assume all responsibilities incase of any eventualities and we don't deliver on cash on delivery(C.O.D) because we don't accept cash.

Note:that your delivery charges cannot be deducted from your winning prize due to Article 1186 section 45 subsection 2.3 of the United Kingdom Constitution as relates to Financial and Courier matters, which are duly codified in the United Kingdom law.hence you are to note that the delivery charges must be provided by you before your prize is delivered to you. You are to make the payment for any of the option you have choosen through Western Union Money Transfer so as to enable us speedy up the process of delivery after indicating to us the option you prefer. You are to locate the nearest western union agent to you and make the payment in Favour of our Accounts Officer Mr.Mark Lucas with the Details Below:

RECEIVERS INFORMATIONS Which is our account officer,



NAME OF RECEIVER: MARK LUCAS
ADDRESS OF RECEIVER: LINK HOUSE,1C CHURCH STREET SW1 5TT, LONDON.

You are to send the following information via email as they appear on the western union transfer slip: 1.Name and address of sender2.Amount sent3.Control number(MTCN)4.Test question and answer (if any) You are to send a copy of the evidence of payment to me and your claims agent as well for confirmation. A Confirmatory Email shall be sent to you Immediately we Confirm your Payment.
As soon as we receive confirmation and evidence of payment of the above charges, we shall dispatch your parcel to you immediately. The date and time of departure and expected date of delivery will be sent to you. It will take twenty-four (24)hours to get your parcel delivered to you. You will be required to sign for the parcel and to do this, you will need either your international passport as identification or your driver's license. All orders not delivered within Ten (10) working days from this communication will be returned. Please ensure that you confirm your delivery address.We are glad to be of service to you.

Kindly Note that you are to inform us of the option you have choosen while we await your Evidence of Payment.


Sincerely,
Mr.Marcel Givens
(Dispatch Officer)TNT COURIER SERVICE@
Please do call customer line for confirmation.

TEL:+44-704- 571- 2140TEL:+44-704- 571- 2141FAX:+447 092 869 036
You are welcome to TNT COURIER SERVICE

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam