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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
  (+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:

• 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:
  • "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "cost of mailing your draft" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • "payment for the courier" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • "you are required to pay " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • ",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)
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
  • "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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.
  • +447045714215 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • exptrustagency@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Frank Williams -ETA" <exptrustagency@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:53:30 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Reg Order No: AZ 522406


30th June, 2007.
Reg Order No: AZ 522406

Attn: Adelaide Kohlmacher,


Congratulations to you.Welcome to the final stage to your claim. We have just been notified by the lottery office about your clearance, which means you have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters of the PowerBall Lottery Promotion. The original copy of your international cashiers cheque, your winning certificate, along side a covering document (Money Laundering protection and Letter of Affidavit for Claims) from the British government stating that the money was obtained legally through the PowerBall Lottery Promotion will be sent to you as soon as you meet with any of the option selected.

You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your draft prize to you. With regards to this, there are four options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the four available (You are to make your prefered and affordable choice in these OPTIONS)

The options, together with their associated conditions for the courier of your Winning draft to you via any of this channel are listed below;

---------------------------------------PACKAGE DETAILS---------------------------------------

(1) An International Cashier cheque of £ 1,000,000 GB Pounds Sterlings
(2) Hard copy of your Winning Certificate.
(3) Hard copy of Money Laundering protection and Letter of Affidavit for Claims.

Below are the mandatory Administrative Charges that you are required to pay to enable us courier these documents to your destination.

--------------------------------------- DELIVERY OPTIONS---------------------------------------


BRONZE DELIVERY
Duration Of Delivery ......... 38hrs
An original certificate of weight.....0.9 Gramms
Total weight of parcel................1.26 Gramms
Colour of parcel......................Brown
Mailing............................... £ 150.00
Insurance............................. £ 290.00
Vat (5%).............................. £ 050.00

TOTAL.................................£ 490.00


PREMIUM DELIVERY
Duration Of Delivery ......... 72hrs
An original certificate of weight.....0.9 Gramms
Total weight of parcel................1.26 Gramms
Colour of parcel......................Brown
Mailing............................... £ 050.00
Insurance............................. £ 250.00
Vat (5%).............................. £ 050.00

TOTAL................................. £ 350.00


SILVER DELIVERY
Duration Of Delivery ......... 24hrs
An original certificate of weight.....0.9 Gramms
Total weight of parcel................1.26 Gramms
Colour of parcel......................Brown
Mailing............................... £ 150.00
Insurance............................. £ 375.00
Vat (5%).............................. £ 050.00

TOTAL................................. £ 575.00

GOLD DELIVERY
Duration Of Delivery ......... 15hrs
An original certificate of weight.....0.9 Gramms
Total weight of parcel................1.26 Gramms
Colour of parcel......................Brown
Flight; .............................. £ 150.00
Insurance............................. £ 490.00
Vat (5%).............................. £ 070.00

TOTAL................................. £ 710.00

The insurance company declined reverse payment for the courier, stating that it is against their professional policy towards ensuring the safe delivery of the draft to you. That if a reverse payment is made, and something goes wrong, that we/you cannot sue the courier company or insurance company to recover the full value of the fund as stipulated in the draft since payment for insurance cover was not made at point of mailing. With the above reason, reverse payment is completely ruled out. Forward the cost of mailing your draft with any of the courier channel cost you choose above to us.

On confirmation of the paid charges,the date and time of departure and expected date of delivery will be sent to you.Your package will be delivered to you pending on the DELIVERY OPTION OF YOUR CHOICE LISTED ABOVE.

Please respond to this email by making a selection from the options above. Also be reminded that the deadline for the claiming of winnings is exactly seven (7) days after the receipt of this email. After this period, your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be refused in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery.


Good luck and Congratulations once again. Please send your response to:

Mr Frank williams
Email: exptrustagency@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: +44 704 571 4215

---------------------------------

CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and prohibited from unauthorized disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message

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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam