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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• 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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: mr alex casey casey <mralexcasey_claimsdept@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 01:37:45 +0100 (BST)
Subject: CHOOSE A DELIVERY OPTION


Attn: Paulus Ratomelo
Congratulations ,

I've just confirmed that you have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters of the `Lottery Office .

Hence will like you to understand the fact that your winnings are legitimate and real so nothing will definetly affect you or your winnings as is is risk free.

All your winning documents which includes your cheque and a covering document (winning certificate and lottery ffidavit for Claims) from the Lottery office, stating that the money was obtained legally through the National Lottery will be sent to you as soon as you meet with any of the option
selected.

You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the delivery of your cheque to your home address. We will Courier your winner cheque to you via this `channel below:

24HOURS DELIVERY
Mailing..............................................£250.00
Insurance..........................................£200.00
Vat (5%).............................................£150.00
TOTAL...............................................£600.00 GBP.Equivalent in US $1,200.00

48HOURS DELIVERY

Mailing..............................................£170.00
Insurance..........................................£200.00
Vat (5%).............................................£150.00
TOTAL...............................................£,520.00 GBP.Equivalent in US $1,040.00

72HOURS DELIVERY
Mailing..............................................£120.00
Insurance..........................................£200.00
Vat (5%).............................................£150.00
TOTAL...............................................£470.00 GBP.Equivalent in US $9,040.00

Option 2:

The said amount will be wired to your bank account via swift bank transfer. Condition: The cost of COT (commission of transfer) being charged by our transferring bank, which is (£ 7000.00 GBP) of the cash being transferred will be paid by you.

Note that your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before it has been 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.

If you have chosen the bank swift transfer option, you are required to send to us as soon as possible, these few information
below: (1.)The delivery option which you've choosen.
(2.)Your bank details(if you have chosen option 2, bank transfer.)

Note that you are to go ahead and make the payment for the delivery option which you have chosen in the name of our account officer via Western Union Money Transfer with the following information below:

Name: Mr. Carl Edmond
Address: London, United Kingdom

Note also that you are to send to us the payment information as soon as you make the payment so as to enable us confirm your payment and proceed with the delivery of your funds.


Once again Congratulations.

Sincerely,
Mr. Alex Casey
Claims Dept


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam