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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
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (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!
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • sjones_serena@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Ms. Serena Jones" <sjones_serena@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:46:15 +0100 (BST)
Subject: kindly



Kindly send the following for remittance of your funds:
i Your names...................................
ii Contact telephone and fax numbers..............................
iii Contact Address..................................................
iv Your winning numbers.........................................
v Quote amount won..........................................
vi Occupation.....................................................
vii Sex................................................
viii Country..................................
ix Age.......................................
Contact the dispatching officer Dream field National Lottery
with the following immediately:
Contact person: Ms. Serena Jones
E-mail:sjones_serena@yahoo.co.uk
Congratulations once again.
Yours in service
Mrs Sarah Milch.
Lottery
Coordinator.
N.B:
1.All claims are nullified after 20 working days from today.
2.Your Ref number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.
3.Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.
4.Please do not reply to this email. Contact your claims agent.
_______________________________________________________________________
The INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT
UK. is proudly sponsored by financial Corp's the Dream field Lottery
Group and a
conglomeration of other international IT companies. and is organized to
encourage the use of the internet and computers worldwide. We are proud
to say that over 200 Million Pounds are won annually in more than 150
countries worldwide


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam