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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims office" (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)
• 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.
  • +447031904211 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: divine lottery <divine.lott.uk.org10@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <harry_edwards_agent@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:40:55 +0200
Subject: Divine Draw


DIVINE LOTTERY DRAW 175 Forest Lane, Forest Gate,London, E7 9BB UNITED KINGDOM
Dear Winner, We are pleased to announce you as one of the 3 lucky winners in the DIVINE LOTTERY UK draw held on 23rd of August 2007. All 3 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 5,000,000 international emails. Your email address emerged alongside 2 others as a 3rd category winner in this month's draw.Consequently,you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of £2,000,000 Pounds (Two million pounds) only. The following particulars are attached to your lotto payment order:(i) Winning numbers: 7, 39, 18, 10, 2, 30(ii) Serial number: 12-25-301(iii) Lotto batch number: GBL-315(iv) Reference number: NHF-202-3Please contact the under listed claims officer as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings:Mr.Harry Edwards.Claims Department ManagerNew Horizon FinanceTel: +44-703-1904-211Email: harry_edwards_agent@yahoo.co.ukDue to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your Winning information confidential until your claim have been processed. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participant.Once again on behalf of all our staff,CONGRATULATIONS!!!Sincerely,Mr. Norman King(Promotions Manager)
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam