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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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:
  • "national lottery promotion" (no such lottery exists)
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "affidavit of claim" (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. )
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: Laura Curtis <agent10010lauracurtis@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:37:53 +0100 (BST)
Subject: CLAIM




The National Lottery
P O Box 1010 Liverpool, L70 1NL
UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)
Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369


Dear Mr/Mrs/miss.......Frau Meyerlich
The UK NATIONAL LOTTERY "international promotions program" was established by the UK Government in conjunction with the UNITED NATIONS in an effort to uplift the financial status of European citizens and other selected countries around the world.
The UK NATIONAL LOTTERY has develop a new strategy of alerting beneficiary of their winnings in other to avoid scams. this why we need to have your full personal details. your full identity and a winning certificate will be awarded to you as soon as you have been verified as a winner. Kindly find attached copy of your winning licence which is required to be presented by you at the point of your claim delivery.

The UK NATIONAL LOTTERY SECURITY AGENCY(U.N.L.S.A) is assuring you of safe delivery of your winning as long as you a true beneficiary of your claim.

You have to be sure of what you are doing and if you know you did not receive this mail directly from the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY you are advice to stop proceedings.
please note: duplication of this copy is not allowed ,
You are advice to keep it secret and private to avoid duplication by scams.

We hereby inform you that we have processed your payment and your cheque is ready for disbursement, along with:
(1).WINNING CERTIFICATE FROM THE UK NATIONAL LOTTERY PROMOTIONS.
(4). AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM
Your winnings is not in cash form but in Bank Cheque, this advice complies with the Anti-Fraud section 2, sub section (IV) of the procedural manual of the funds disbursement agreement existing between courier companies and the British Government.

We have then forwarded your winning cheque to the courier company that will handle the delivery. It will be delivered to you after you have taken care of the required cost. You are to proceed to your bank with the cheque to cash it once you receive it.


You are to contact the courier company at once with your full name and address on the requirements to sending your cheque to you. Below are their contact details:

SWIFT LINK COURIER COMPANY LTD.
Handling Officer: Mr. FRANK GIBSON
Email: info_swiftlinkcourierdelivery

You are to keep us fully informed on all developments.

Best Regards
LAURA CURTIS
Fiduciary Agent,




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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam