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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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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:
  • "claim 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!
• 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.
  • +447040104452 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448709748549 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • hmfinance@yahoo.es

Fraud email example:

From: "Sweeptakes Online Lottery" <lotteryoffice1@btconnect.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:20:40 +0100
Subject: RE: CONSOLATION PRIZE WINNER NOTICE

RE: CONSOLATION PRIZE WINNER NOTICE

Europe/ America private international e-games organizers and co-sponsors, POWERBALL LOTTO Group International, officially bring to your notice of the final draw result of the 6th August-2007 POWERBALL LOTTO-wheel E-game which was conducted at our international corporate office complex in The UNITED KINGDOM.

Most recently this foundation set up the NEW LOTTERY SCHEME to give out prizes based on COMPUTER BALLOT SYSTEM. By doing this the foundation seek to encourage the use of Internet for academic and business pursuits. It major aim is to promote music, theatre, art, literature, projects in the social and political arena with a focus on health, as well as science, research, and higher education.

We wish to congratulate and inform you on the selection of your email coupon number which was selected among the 17 lucky consolation prize winners your email ID identified with Coupon No. PBL 2348974321 and was selected by our E-games Random Selection System (ERSS) with entries from the 50,000 different email addresses enrolled for the E-game. Your email ID was included among the 50,000 different email addresses submitted by our partner international email provider companies.

You have won a consolation cash prize of US $850,000.00 only (Eight Hundred And fifty Thousand US Dollars only). The POWERBALL LOTTO Group. BV, have approved a payout of your consolation cash prize which will be remunerated directly to you.

You are hereby inform to contact HM TRESURY FINANCE SERVICE for them to render to you complete assistance and provide additional information and processes for the claims of your consolation prize. For due processing of your winning claim, please contact the Claim Agent Baptista Jorge who has been assigned to assist you. And you are expected to send him the following:
1. Full name:
2. Residential Address
3. Phone and Fax
4. Country

Contact Baptista Jorge
TEL: +44 704 010 4452
FAX: +44 870 974 8549
E-mail: hmfinance@yahoo.es

Once again congratulations from all our staffs on your consolation prize winning, we hope you will partake in our forth coming POWERBALL LOTTO -wheel Email-games.

Regards,
Mrs. Catherine Martins
(Group Coordinator)


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam