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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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• 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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• 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 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.
  • florentpedretti_fdf001@yahoo.fr (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "ONLINE NOTICE DEPT" <onlinepromo@flashdriveline.net> (may be fake)
Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 18:47:11 +0200 (MEST)
Subject: DONATION/GRANT


THE FONDATION DE FRANCE(FDF)
<http://www.fdf.org/>.
The Fondation De France(FDF) would like to notify you
that you have
been chosen by the board of trustees as one of the
final recipients of
a cash Grant/Donation for your own personal,
educational, and business
development. The FDF, established 1977 by the Multi-
Million groups and
now supported by the Economic Community for West
African
States (ECOWAS), United Nations Organization (UNO)
and the Europian U
nion
(EU) was conceived with the objective of human growth,
educational, and community development.
In conjunction with the ECOWAS, UNO and the EU, We
are giving out a
yearly donation of US$1,350,000.00 (One million,
Three hundred and
Fifty thousand United states dollars only) each to
100 lucky
recipients. These specific Donations/Grants will be
awarded to 100
lucky international recipients worldwide, in
different categories.
Based on the random selection exercise of internet
websites and
millions of supermarket cash invoices worldwide, you
were selected
amongst the lucky recipients to receive the award sum
of
US$1,350,000.00 as charity donations/aid.
FULL NAMES:______________ADDRESS: _______________
CITY:____________________STATE:__________________
COUNTRY________________SEX:_______________
AGE:__________________MARITAL STATUS:___________
NATIONALITY__________OCCUPATION:_______________
RELIGION______________E-MAIL ADDRESS:____________
TELEPHONE NUMBER:_____________________
You are required to contact the Executive Secretary
below, for
qualification documentation and processing of your
claims. After
contacting our office, you will be given your
donation pin number,
which you will use in collecting the funds. Please
endeavor to quote
your Qualification numbers (FDF-444-6647-9163) in all
discussions.
Executive Sec. Florent Pedretti
Email: florentpedretti_fdf001@yahoo.fr
Regards.
Mrs. Christie Cisse

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam