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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:
  • "transfer of your funds" (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)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "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.
  • +447031919598 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448715048501 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Basel Lotterien <info@baselukoffice.org>
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:13:11 +0000
Subject: Information For Your Perusal.



Mr. Conrad Metzhagen,

We acknowledge the reciept of your email and the content therein is well noted.

Following the email we received from you, we want to use this opportunity to inform you that the Basel lotterien board is a legitimate firm and all transaction and transmission of emails that is passed out from this firm to our client is approved by the world lotterien board.

The United Nations and the European Union are one of the endorsers of the Basel Lotterien Program; you can do a confirmation or rather an investigation on this matter by making direct contact with the United Nations office and ask them for further verification of this firm by visiting their website at: www.un-uk.org .

Note: you have to follow all instructions for claiming your prize because we are working inline with the world lotterien board policy which stated that all prize funds must be claimed 10days after the reciept of the winning notification email.

To claim your prize funds, you are required to come directly to our UK office for direct claim. If you have problems with coming to our office you can make a wire transfer of your funds to your private bank account. You can also employ the use of a courier service company to deliver your winning cheque to your home or office address.

For a telegraphic transfer of your funds to your private bank account, you are required to send your name and address in full, phone number, bank name, bank address, next of kin, account number, Swift/Routing/Sort Code, so as to facilitate the release of your funds to your stated bank account.

For a courier service delivery ,you are required to send your name, phone number, information of next of kin, mailing address(home or office address), so as to facilitate the release of your Funds to your desired address.

You are required to send the necessary information in full as regards your chosen option to effect the transfer of your winnings to your designation.

Congratulations once again from all members of our staff and thanks for being part of our promotions program.

For more information about our lotterien program kindly visit our website at: www.chanimuya.com

Yours faithfully,
Mr. Bob Woods.
Information and Payment Bureau:
London Representative Office.
Basel Lotterien.
Tel (1): +44-703-191-9598
Tel (2): +44-703-192-9037
Fax (1) +44-871-504-8501
Fax (2) +44-703-184-0214

CC

Mr. Phil Stevens.
Promotions Manager
Basel Lotterien.
Management and Central Services:
St. Alban-Anlage 31,
Basel CH-4005,
Switzerland.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam