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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "the bmw automobile company" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",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)
  • "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
• 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.
  • +4408106780681
• 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.
  • bmw05_customerdept@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: 07_infoweb@comcast.net (BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY )
Date: Fri, 06 Jul 2007 02:26:04 +0000
Subject: THE BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY OFFICIAL PRIZE NOTIFICATION

BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY
PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD
1 BMW AVENUE
STAMFORD BRIDGE LONDON
B315EN UNITED KINGDOM

THE BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY OFFICIAL PRIZE NOTIFICATION
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded
annual final draws held on the (1st of July, 2007) by Bmw
Automobile Company in conjunction with the Michelin Worldwide
Promotion, your email was among the 20 Lucky winners who won
£1,000,000.00 each and a brand new BMW 5 Series Car on the THE
BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY PROMOTION.However the results were
released on the 5th of July,2007 and your email was attached to
ticket number (1DFHG2006)and ballot number(BMW:85652006) The
online draws was conducted by a random selection of email
addresses from an exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail addresses of
individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated
random computer search from the internet. However, no tickets
were sold but all email addresses were assigned to different
ticket numbers for representation and privacy.
The selection process was carried out through random selection in
our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database
of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of
the world.
This Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also
Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming
Regulators(IAGR).This lottery is the 3rd of its kind and we intend
to sensitize the public.In other to claim your a Brand New BMW 5
Series Car and £1,000,000.00 prize winning, which has been
deposited in a designated bank.However,you will have to fill the
form below and send it to the Promotion manager of THE BMW
AUTOMOBILE COMPANY for verification and then you will be directed
on how to claim your winnings of the £1,000,000.00, which has
already been deposited in your favour.

NAME:.....................................
AGE:........................................
SEX:........................................
ADDRESS:...............................
EMAIL:....................................
PHONE:.............................
OCCUPATION:.........................
COMPANY:...............................
ANNUAL INCOME:........................
COUNTRY:...............................
Please you are advice to complete the form and send it
immediately to our Promotion manager through email or fax for
prompt collection of your fund from the designated bank.
(CONTACT PROCESSION DEPARTMENT MANAGER)
Manager:Mr james smith
Duputy Manager:Westley Mac
Phone # +44 (0) 702 407 8662
FAX # : +44 (0) 810 678 0681
E MAIL: bmw05_customerdept@yahoo.co.uk
You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public
especially your ticket number and ballot number. (This is important
as a case of double claims will not be entertained).Congratulations
once more.
Yours faithfully,
Management
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will
result to,disqualification Anybody under the age of 18 cannot
participate
in this program.Do not reply to this office as you are to contact
the promotion manager with your informations to enable the
processing Of Winnings.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam