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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
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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")
• 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: James Peterson <mr.james_peterson@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:49:28 +0100 (BST)
Subject: WINNER'S VERIFICATION FORM




Euro Lotto Head Office
Lancaster Way,
Ermine Business Park,
Huntingdon,Cambridgeshire,
UK. PE29 6YJ
(Customer Services)
Ref: NK/9420X/05
Batch: 074/05/ZY369
DATE: 17/06/2007


Dear Winner,
Congratulations once again on behalf of the EURO INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY . We do believe that your winnings ($200,000.00 USD) will be put into good use by you. On Behalf of the Screening Committee of INTERNATIONAL PROMO BOARD, I wish to formally announce to you again that you have successfully passed the Email Screening and Verification Form Matching Test conducted for all online winners in your Category.

You must adhere to this instruction, strictly, to avoid any delay with the release of your funds to your person. This program has been abused severally in past, so we are doing our best to forestall further occurrence of false claims with this,we advice that you keep all information about this prize confidential until your funds $200,000.00 have been received by you.

You are therefore CLEARED to receive your total won sum and you can now fill the online form below and return to claims agent James Peterson for immediate release of your winning check to your provided address. Return Form to email:
WINNER'S VERIFICATION FORM
WINNER'S PERSONAL DATA
First Name.: *
Middle Name.:
Last Name.: *
Gender.:
Month Of Birth.:
Day:
Year:
Marital Status.:
Nationality.: *
Religion.:
Occupation.:
Next Of Kin: Monthly Income: (Optional)
Address 2.:
City.: *
State/Province.: *
Zip Code: *
Mobile phone No.: *
House Phone No.: *
Fax No.:
Email Address.: *
WINNING INFORMATION:
E-ticket Number: *
Prize Number: *
Lottery Date: *
This is to verify that the information filled in this FORM is a valid particulars of me. Yes: No:






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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam