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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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:
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
• 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.
  • +447031964428 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: TNT COURIER <courier_tntexpressdelivery@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 09:00:16 +0100 (BST)
Subject: COURIER COST/OPTIONS FOR WINNING ORDER :C562725







ATTENTION:Ms Griswalda Kraus,


This is to inform you that you have been officially cleared for payment of £516,778.00(G.B.P) by the Verifications Dept. at the headquartersof the UK GLOBAL/NATIONAL Lottery.

The original copy of this certificate from the British government stating that the money was obtained legally through their UK GLOBAL/NATIONAL LOTTERY 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 claims process, 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 conditions are presented below:

OPTIONS:
Courier of your winning draft to you via any of this
channel listed below:

Option:1
TNT EXPRESS DELIVERY (Overnight)
Mailing...............................£105.00
Insurance.............................£430.00
Vat (5%)..............................£034.75
TOTAL.................................£569.75========$978.35


Option:2
TNT PREMIUM SERVICE(2working days)
Mailing &n bsp;.......................£75.00
Insurance.............................£350.00
Vat (5%)..............................£038.95
TOTAL.................................£463.95========$796.87


Option:3
TNT REGULAR SERVICE(4working days)
Mailing ;.............................£60.00
Insurance.............................£300.00
Vat (5%)..............................£019.00
TOTAL.................................£379.00========$650.96


Note: that your prize is protected by a hardcoverinsurance policy by CHUUB INSURANCE COMPANY, which makes it impossible for us to deduct any amount from your winnings before it is Remitted to you.This means that the above charges cannot be deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your prize is transferred to you.

Please respond to this email by making a selection from the courier options above.


Also attach a scanned copy of either your driver's license, international passport (photo page) or any other legally identifying document(Optional) while sending your option to us.

Also be reminded that the deadline for the claiming of your winnings is exactly two weeks after the receipt of this email. After this period, your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be re-used in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery.


Good luck and Congratulations once again. Please send your response within the next 24hrs to this same email address.

Regards,




MR KELVIN BODE
TNT COURIER SERVICE
(DISPATCH OFFICER)
TEL: +447031964428
TEL: +447011121791


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam