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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:

• 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:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
• 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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: TNT COURIER SERVICES <tntdept33@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:58:02 -0600
Subject: COURIER COST/PAYMENT DETAILS










ATTENTION:Winner,

This is to inform you that you have been officiallycleared for
payment by the Verifications Dept. at the headquartersof The UK National
Lottery.
The original copy of this certificate from the BritishGovernment
stating that the money was obtained legally through The UK National Lottery
and will be sent to you or your bank as soon as you meet with any of the
options selected and your winnings will be couriered or transferred to you
immediately.

You can now begin the final step of the claimsprocess, which is
the transferring of your cash prize to you either in Cash/Cheque. With regards
to this, there are three options open to you, you are required to select the
most convenient of the
three.

The options, together with their associated
conditionsare presented below: OPTIONS:Courier of your winning
draft to you via any of thischannel listed below: Option:1TNT EXPRESS
DELIVERY (Overnight)Mailing.................................£105.00Insurance.............................£430.00Vat
(5%)................................£034.75TOTAL..................................£569.75=====OR===$978.35 Option:2TNT PREMIUM SERVICE(2working
days)Mailing.................................£75.00Insurance.............................£350.00Vat
(5%)................................£038.95TOTAL..................................£463.95=====OR===$796.87 Option:3TNT REGULAR SERVICE(4working days)Mailing
;.............................£60.00Insurance.............................£300.00Vat
(5%)..............................£019.00TOTAL.................................£379.00=====OR===$650.96

MODE OF PAYMENT The charges are a little bit high because
of the Hardcover insurance Policy we have undertaken in case of loss,Damage or
Theft of your highly sensitive document and funds. We assume all
responsibilities in case of any eventualities and we don't deliver on cash on
delivery(C.O.D) because we don't accept cash. You are to make the
payment for any of the option you have chosen through Western Union Money
Transfer so as to enable us speedy up the process of delivery after indicating
to us the option you prefer. You are to locate the nearest western union agent
to you and make the payment in Favour of our Accounts Officer Mr.Justin
Hoyte with the Details Below:

RECEIVERS INFORMATIONS

NAME OF RECEIVER:JUSTIN HOYTE
ADDRESS OF RECEIVER:20-22 Eastbury Road, London,E6 6LP


You are to send the following information via email as they appear
on the western union transfer slip: 1.Name and address of
sender2.Amount sent3.Control number(MTCN) You are to send a copy
of the evidence of payment to me and your claims agent as well for
confirmation. A Confirmatory Email shall be sent to you Immediately we Confirm
your Payment.
As soon as we receive confirmation and evidence of payment of
the above charges, we shall dispatch your winnings to you immediately. The date
and time of departure and expected date of delivery will be sent to you. It will
take twenty-four hours to get your parcel delivered to you. You will be required
to sign for the parcel and to do this, you will need either your international
passport as identification or your driver's license. All orders not
delivered within Ten (10) working days from this communication will be returned.
Please ensure that you confirm your delivery address.We are glad to be of
service to you.

Kindly Note that you are to inform us of the option you have chosen
while we await your Evidence of Payment.

Sincerely,
Terry Hopkins
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam