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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
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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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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: REV WILLY ANDERSON <revwilly_a6@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2007 05:25:29 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATION YOU HAVE WON $250.000.00USD


FROM DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT INTERNATIONALPROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARDSDEPARTMENT AUSTRALIANINTERNATIONAL SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY COPORATION;DATE 5/9/2007REF NUMBER:575061725BATCHNUMBER:8056490902/188WINNING NUMBER:KB8701/LPRCCONGRATULATION!CONGRATULATION!! CONGRATULATION!!!Dear Sir/Madam,We are delighted to inform you of your prize releaseon the 1ST of September 2007 from the AUSTRALIANTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAMME,Which is fully based onan electronic selection of winners usingtheir e-mail addresses,Your name was attached toticket number; number;575061725 8056490902 serialnumber 6741137002.This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows4-13-33-37-42bonus number 17,which consequently wonthe lottery in the second category. you havebeen approved a lump sum pay of US$250,000.00 (TWOHUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS) incash creditfile ref: ILP/HW 47509/02 from the total cash prizeshared amongst eight lucky winners in 2nd category.All participant were selected through computerballoting system drawn form Nine hundred thousandE-mail addresses from canada,Australia,United States,Asia,Europe,Middle East,Africa and Oceania aspart of our international promotions program which isconducted anually.This Lottery was promoted andsponsored by a conglomerate of some internationalcompanies as part of their social responsibility tothe citizens in the communities where they haveoperational base.Furthermore your detail (e-mail address) falls withinour Nigeria representative office in Africa asindicated in your play coupon and your prize ofUS$250,000.00 will be released to you fromthis regional branch office in NIGERIA.We hope withpart of your prize,you will participate in our end ofyear high stakes for US$1.3Billion international draw.HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE:Simply contact our fiducial agent MR.MARK HUGGARDEmail: aussieclaimsagent_huggard@walla.comTo file for your claim.Please quote your reference,batch and winning number which can be found on the topleft corner of this notification as well as your fullname,addressand telephone number to help locateyourfile easily.For security reasons, we advice all winners tokeep this information confidential from the publicuntil your claim is processed and your prize releasedto you.This is part of our security protocol to avoiddouble claiming and unwarranted taking advantageof this programme by non-participant or un officialpersonnel.NOTE,all winnings must be claimed before 30TH ofSeptember 2007; otherwise all funds will be returnedas Unclaimed and eventually donatedto charity organization.Congratulations once again on your winnings!!!Best Regards Rev.Willy Anderson.(co-ordinator).PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.CONTACT YOUR CLAIMSAGENT MR.MARK HUGGARDEMAIL;aussieclaimsagent_huggard@walla.comYOU MUST CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT WITH THE E-MAILADDRESSES THAT HAVE BEEN INDICATED FOR CLEARIFICATIONS.
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam