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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (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!
• 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.
  • +447031841710 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Mr Anthony Lens <camelotclaims_dept05@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:16:37 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Re:WINNING INFORMATION


Dear Mr.

I got you mail asking on how you where selected as one of the lucky online winners for the United Kingdom National Lottery, firstly be informed that participants for the online version were selected randomly from World Wide Web through computer balloting system drawn from over 100,000.00 names database, union associations and corporate bodies listed online. For example Yahoo.com (all online yahoo registry from different countries world wide, Hotmail, AOL, Gmail and a whole lot more) which your name emerged as one of our lucky online winners.

Concerning European Union Taxes, you are not obligated to pay any tax as the United Kingdom National Lottery Board has already taken care of this cost from your winnings before you where ever notified.

Its is also my duty as your claims agent to inform you about the pending duration you have to redeem you claims as the Camelot Group Board of Directors would immediately return your Cheque to the European Union Treasury as unclaimed.




Yours Respectfully


Mr Anthony Lens.
Tel: +44 703 1841 710


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam