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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!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "top of the day to you" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
• 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: MIKE POWELL <claims_agentmikepowell@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:24:10 +0100 (BST)
Subject: TREAT AS URGENT !!


ATTN : Valdema Wechsha,
Top of the day to you and Your entire Family.

I wish to inform You that You are one of the lucky Winners of The UK National Lottery and there You have been approved to claim Your Money.

This is exactly how You were selected as a Winner of the UK National Lottery.
Congratulations your email address which was provided by www.inetgiant.com and was attached to the Reference number:Ref:UK/9420X2/68 has been announced as the winner of
£615,193.00 in our weekend promotion.

Hence I advice that You adhere to My instructions in order to have Your Money released to You without further delay.

Regards.
Mr.Mike Powell.


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam