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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
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• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +447045704149 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Microsoft=AE=20Award=20Team?= <agenthitchens@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:25:12 +0100 (BST)
Subject: MICROSOFT AWARD OFFICIAL CLAIMS VERIFICATION FORM. (FILL AND RETURN)



MICROSOFT AWARD TEAM
Thames Valley Park
Reading Berkshire RG6 1WG.
Ref: BTD/968/07
Batch: 409978E


Attn: Lucky Winner,

This is in receipt of your mail.Your email was luckily drawn by a computer balloting system as one of our winners in our experimental lottery bonanza from the prestigous MICROSOFT ONLINE PROMOTION.Thus, making you the winner of the sum of £1,000,000.00GBP (One Million Great British Pound Sterlings). For currency conversion in your local currency equivalent, refer to www.oanda.com


This correspondence officially confirms that we are in receipt of instructions relating to the payment of your lottery winnings of £1,000,000.00GBP (One Million Great British Pound Sterlings)

Kindly complete the form below with correct information and email back to us with a return email so that we can have a precise and comprehensive record of our winners.

Your prize cheque has been vaulted safely with our corresponding Bank prior to your readiness to complete your claims and would be presented to you after verification of the data requested below. To proceed with your claims, you would be required to fill the Verification Form below completely and return back to us immediately. You are also required to send us a scanned copy of your Valid Identity.

THIS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE BENEFICIARY OF THE STATED FUND, FOR VERIFICATION BEFORE TRANSFER.

FIRST NAME.................


LAST NAME..................


NATIONALITY................................


RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS......................


DATE OF BIRTH...................


SEX.....................................

TEL. NUMBER......................


FAX NUMBER............................


EMAIL ADDRESS..................


AMOUNT WON.............................


BATCH NUMBER.............................


OCCUPATION.....................


MARITAL STATUS...................

DECLARATION:

I...............................................................HEREBY
DECLARE THAT THE ABOVE DATA ARE TRUE. THAT MY CLAIMS /FIDUCIARY AGENT SHALL ACT AS A FACILITATOR IN THE TRANSFER OF THE TOTAL FUND TO ME.

DATE........................

(YOUR FULLNAMES)........................................

Congratulations once again from the entire staff of the Microsoft Award Team.

Mr.Kyle Hitchens
MICROSOFT AWARD TEAM.
United Kingdom
Tel:: +44-704-570-4149
...................................................................................................................................................................
**OUR WINNERS ARE ASSURED OF THE UTMOST STANDARDS OF CONFIDENTIALITY,AND PRESS ANONYMITY UNTIL THE END OF PROCEEDINGS,AND BEYOND WHERE THEY SO DESIRE.BE FURTHER ADVISED TO MAINTAIN A STRICT LEVEL OF CONFIDENTIALITY UNTIL THE END OF PROCEEDINGS TO CIRCUMVENT PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH FRAUDULENT CLAIMS.THIS IS PART OF OUR PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMIANTS AND UNWARRANTED ABUSE OF THIS PROGRAM.**
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and prohibited from unauthorized disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

******©2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved********





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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam