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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.

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:
  • "cost of mailing your draft" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • "payment for the courier" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
• 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.
  • +447045724056 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: TNT COURIERS SERVICE. <tntcourierdept@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 14:53:46 +0000
Subject: CHOOSE YOUR COURIER COST OF DELIVERY

















( REG NO:103309)







Reg order no: D562725

Attention:James Morris,

This is to inform you that you have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters of the free lotto sweepstakes lottery.The original copy of this certificate from the British government stating that the money was obtained legally through their free Lotto will be sent to you and the bank as soon as you meet with any of the option selected and your winnings will be couriered or transferred to you immediately.
You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you in Cheque. With regards to this, there are three options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the three.The options, together with their associated conditions are presented below: OPTIONS Courier of your winning draft to you via any of thischannel listed below: Option:1TNT EXPRESS DELIVERY (Overnight)Mailing...............................£105.00Insurance.............................£430.00Vat (5%)..............................£034.75TOTAL.................................£569.75========$1,149.87 USD Option:2TNT PREMIUM SERVICE(2working days)Mailing &n bsp;.......................£75.00Insurance.............................£350.00Vat (5%)..............................£038.95TOTAL.................................£463.95========$936.237 USD Option:3TNT REGULAR SERVICE(4working days)Mailing ;.............................£60.00Insurance.............................£300.00Vat (5%)..............................£019.00TOTAL.................................£379.00========$764.899 USD
The insurance company declined reverse payment for the courier, stating that it is against their professional policy towards ensuring the safe delivery of the draft to you. That if a reverse payment is made, and something goes wrong, that we you cannot sue the courier company or insurance company to recover the full value of the fund as stipulated in the draft since payment for insurance cover was not made at point of mailing.With the above reason, reverse payment is ruled out.Forward the cost of mailing your draft with any of the courier channel cost you choose above to us.
Note that your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance policy by GEOTRUST INSURANCE COMPANY, which makes it impossible for us to deduct any amount from your winnings before it is Remitted to you.This means that the above charges cannot be deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your prize is transferred to you. Please respond to this email by making a selection from the three options above. Also attach a scanned copy of either your driver's licence, international passport (photo page) or any other legally identifying document(Optional). Also be reminded that the deadline for the claiming of your winnings is exactly two weeks after the receipt of this email. After this period, your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be re-used in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery. Good luck and Congratulations once again. Please send your response within the next 24hrs to this same email address.


Regards


Mr. Steve Campbell
(Dispatch Officer)TNT COURIERS SERVICE.
TEL: +44-7045724056FAX: +44-7006032156
Open 7days-24hrs-365days.





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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam