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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:
  • "20 craven park, harlesden" (address often used in fake lottery scams)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: kevin serpa <claimsdiv39@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <claimsdiv1@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 08:38:34 -0400
Subject: RESPOND YOU HAVE WON Microsoft Award Team



RESPOND YOU HAVE WON Microsoft Award Team20 Craven Park, HarlesdenLondon NW10United KingdomRef: BTD/968/05Batch: 409978EDear Sir/Madam, RESPOND YOU HAVE WON Microsoft Award Team You Have Won:£350,000.00(GBP) (Three Hundred And Fifty Thousand pounds) We are pleased to inform you of the announcement today of winners of the MSW MEGA JACKPOT LOTTO WINNINGS PROGRAMS held on the 31st, July 2007. Your email address as indicated was drawn and attached to ticket number 008795727498 with serial numbers BTD/9080648302/06 and drew the lucky numbers 14-21-25-39-40-47(20) which subsequently won you £350,000.00(GBP)(Three Hundred And Fifty Thousand Pounds) already issued in a cheque as one of the 10 jackpot winners in this draw. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our Africa booklet representative in West Africa as indicated in your play coupon, In view of this, your £350,000.00(GBP) (Three Hundred And Fifty Thousand pounds)cheque would be released to you by our Fiduciary Agent in West Africa. To claim your winning prize, you must first contact the claims officer with the information below: NAME: Mr. Paulson Adams Email: claimsdiv1@hotmail.comYou are to quote Your personal datas as specified below:1.FULL NAMES:__2.ADDRESS:__3.SEX:_4.AGE:____5.MARITAL STATUS:___6.OCCUPATION:_7.E-MAIL ADDRESS:__8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:__9.COUNTRY__ Your's faithfully,Mrs. Olivia Walters.Microsoft Promotion Team
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam