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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:
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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "courier service" (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.
  • +447031957153 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: TNT COURIER SERVICES <tntdeliveryunit@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:20:33 +0000
Subject: MY RESPONSE



Dear Winner,

This is to inform you that the TNT Courier Services works hand in hand with the UK National Lottery to ensure the safe delivery of your winning prize to you.Your winnings cannot be delivered to you using any other means besides TNT Courier Services.

The courier charges are a little bit high because of the Hardcover insurance Policy we have undertaken in case of loss,Damage or Theft of your highly sensitive document and funds. We assume all responsibilities in case of any eventualities and we don't deliver on cash on delivery(C.O.D) because we don't accept cash.

You must understand that the insurance is mandatory and hence cannot be left out.I want to assure you once again that once you make this payment your winnings will be delivered to you.

Sincerely,Terry Hopkins.

TNT COURIER SERVICE
(Dispatch Officer)
TEL:+44 703 195 7153TEL:+44 703 192 4098
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam