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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• 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.

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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:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",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!

Fraud email example:

From: don owo <owodonlott001@hotmail.co.uk>
Reply-To: <don_owo001@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:58:28 +0100
Subject: LUCKY WINNER



UK NATIONAL LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS
The Marina Offices, St Peters Yacht Basin,Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1HX England
Dear Winner,
We are pleased to inform you of the final announcement that you are one of our first quarter winners of the UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL LOTTERY,international Lottery programs held on the 15th of June, 2007.
The selection was made from the list of over 21,000 e-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet, no tickets were sold.
After this automated computer ballot, your e-mail address emerged as one of three winners in the category "A" with the following winning informations: REF No: L/200-26937BATCH No: 2007MJL-01
You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £1,000,000 (One million pounds sterling).
To file for your claim, Contact the processing Consultant:Agent Name:Dr.
Do fill out the claims form to Dr. Smith Stanford in other to process the claims of your prize without delay.PAYMENT PROCESSING FORM:1.FULL NAMES:_____________________2.ADDRESS:________________________3.SEX:_____________________________4.AGE:____________________________5.MARITAL STATUS:________________6.OCCUPATION:____________________7.E-MAIL ADDRESS:________________8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:____________9.AMOUNT WON:__________________10. COUNTRY______________________Once again congratulations... Sincerely,DONFOR UK NATIONAL ONLINE LOTTERY.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam