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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:
  • "here in united kingdom" (this email uses bad English)
• 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: "AGENT CLIFF" <sgtsdonald1@excite.com>
Reply-To: agent_cliff02@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:40:15 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: An Affiliate of the UK National Lottery


An Affiliate of the UK National Lottery355 Birmingham Road, Wylde Green,SuttonCold Field, West Midlands, B72 IDL.Ref: EAASL/941OYI/5+BBatch No.: BL040804BLUKWinning No.: 01-05-06-31-33-41WINNING NOTICEWe happily announce to you the draws of the Euro-Asian Big Lottery International programs held on the2nd of August. 2007 here in United Kingdom in which youand forty nine (49) others were selected as winnersunder draws B6/6.Your e-mail address attached toticket number:08-04-33-38-BL-UK with Serial numberBL040811/04 drewthe lucky numbers: 01-05-06-31-33-41,whichsubsequently won you the lottery in the 2ndcategory(5+B). All participants were selected randomlyfrom Internetsites through computer drawn system andfrom 50,000 companies. This promotion takes placequarterly.You have therefore been approved to claim a totalsumof £413,267.00 (Four Hundred and Thirteen ThousanTwo Hundred and Sixty Seven GBP) as your winningprize.This is from a total cash prize of 12% lottery taxworth £549
million per year shared among the Fifty(50)luckywinners quarterly.Please note that your lucky winning number fallswithinour European booklet representative office inEurope asindicated in the results. In view of this, your£413,267.00 will be paid to you upon confirmationandclarification by our payment office in Europe.Our European agent will immediately commencetheprocess to facilitate the release of your fundsassoon as you contact them. To avoid unnecessarydelays and complications, please quote your Ticket,Referenceand Batch numbers in any correspondences with ourdesignated agent or us.Please include your telephone numbers when contactingthe agent.You should contact:Name: Kate JohnEmail: info_affiliate01@yahoo.co.ukCongratulations once more from all members andstaffsof this program.Thank you for being part of ourpromotional lotteryprogram.Sincerely yours,Customer Service

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam