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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:

• 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: BRITISH LOTTERY <britishlotteryclaimsoffice2007@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:09:01 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Attention Mr Kord.Gerhagen


Dear Mr kord.gerhagen,

In respect to your last email which you sent to me concerning the unusual
things that have been happening to you, i must say i am really really
sorry about that.
inrespect of your winnings is enough to make you excited and forget what
ever that
has happened to you.
.

The british american new year bonanza lottery promo which was held here in london, your
email
address was attatched to the following numbers listed bellow:

Ticket number: 10017811345
Serial Number: 320912/02
Drew the Lucky Numbers: 00-10-0-20937-06
This actually make's you one of the bonafide winner of the lottry promo in the 2nd category.
You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of GBP? 2,500,000.00 (Two Million, Five
Hundred Thousand, British Pounds Sterling's) in cash.

My advice to you as your Claims Agent is to follow our normal procedure so as to enable you
get get your winnig price.

CONGRATULATIONS ONES MORE AND HAVE A WUNDERFUL DAY.

Bye For Now?






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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam