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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:

• 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.
  • +34662085256 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Zita Harris" <zi_harris@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:14:07 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: RE: EUROMILLONS AWARD 2007


Dear Spangler Mullstein,
As reflected in our first mail to you, this lottery
program has been on-line for so many years till date.
a lot of people have also benefited from it, with
winnings ranging from €5,000, €100,000 and more. this
years program has been designed to give out lump sums
to fewer individuals and corporate winners. Emails
listed on the Internet were picked at random from
different websites, discussion groups and search
engines for the final selection and winning.
Your email address was picked by our automated
computer ballot system, which has been programmed for
this random selection. this has eventually qualified
you for the lump sum jackpot of €615,810,00.
You are therefore required to either visit our
accredited claims processing agent or contact
them immediately at:
CLEARING HOUSE SPAIN
Tel:++34-662-085-256
Contact:Mr. Zita Gomez Harris.
You are to provide the below details to this
Commission, to enable the speedy evaluation and
Processing of your winnings. we advice that you adhere
Strictly to their procedures to avoid any
disqualifications and subsequent cancellation
1. your full names
2. your full home / office address
3. direct telephone/fax numbers and valid I.D
such as your driver's license or international passport
the above detailed information will be absolutely
necessary for the processing of your payment cheques,
drafts or wire transfers.
Please note that this winning is valid for one month
and failure to issue claims after this period will
automatically void your payment. R emember to quote
your ticket number in your future correspondence.
Congratulations and we look forward to hearing from
you soon.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Rita Mathews.
(Assistant co-ordinator)





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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam