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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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• 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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million dollars" (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)
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
• 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.
  • +447031844221 (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.
  • douglas_duke_dd1@latinmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • douglas_duke_dd1@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: caroline owen <cclloo48@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <douglas_duke_dd1@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 16:41:30 +0200
Subject: lucky winner



CONGRATULATIONS WINNING NOTIFICATION We happily announce to you the draw of the Euro-Afro- Sweepstake Lottery international programs held in United Kingdom. Your E-mail address attached to: B9564 75604545 188 with! reference number 97560 drew the winning number: 05/08/09/26/29/44/, which subsequently won the lottery in the 2nd category. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of US$800,000.00 (Eighty Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in cash credited to file butch number KPC/9080118308/02.This is from a total cash prize of US $5,600,000,00 Million dollars, shared among the first seven (7) lucky winners in this category world-wide. In view of this, your US$800,000.00 (Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) would be released to you by our Paying Bank: barclays Bank of United Kingdom. your claim agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him. Please quote your reference/batch numbers in any correspondences to our selected claim agent. Congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this program, Contact information is as follow: Name: Mr. Douglas Duke Mobile: +447031844221Email: douglas_duke_dd1@latinmail.com or douglas_duke_dd1@hotmail.com
1) Winning number:.....................2) Reference number:.......................3) File
butch number....................4) Your full name: ....................5)
Occupation:................................6) Address:...................................7) Date of birth:..............................8) Marital status:
..................................9) Sex:............................................10) Occupation/Name of Company and Position: 11) Nationality: ................12) Country of Residence: 13) Private Telephone and Fax Number: Sincerely,Mrs. Caroline Owen.United Kingdom Zonal Co-coordinator.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam