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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "to your nominated bank account" (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.
  • +2348072481002 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • weng_1974@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: =?UTF-8?Q?opecpriz?= <opecpriz@o2.pl>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:52:29 +0200
Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Details_of_Claim?=


THE INTERNATIONAL AWARENESSPROMOTION DEPARTMENT OF ORGANIZATION OFTHE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIESPETERBOROUGH CAMBRIDGE SHIRE PE4 7YP,UNITED KINGDOMTel: 447031921491 Reference Number: OPEC/2551256003/01/07 Dear SirThis is to confirm the receipt of your mail. The Officials of InternationalAwareness Promotion Department of the ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, wishes to congratulate you on your success as the STAR PRIZE WINNER in this years OPEC International Awareness Promotion (OIAP) held in London This makes you the proud owner of the cash prize of $1.300.000, 00. One Million Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars Only The selection process was carried out through random selection in our Computerized GSM Selection System (GSM.S.S.) from a database of over a million GSM numbers from the Oil Producing Countries. Each GSM was attached to a ticket number and your number with ticket number: C55T24 and serial number: CT/556543450906 was randomly selected as the star prize winner amongst other consolation prize winners.For you to collect your prizes, kindly fill the verification form below and send it to our claims department through email, stating your receipt of this notification. I have been mandated to offer you assistance and facilitate the urgent payment of you winning fund. VERIFICATION FORM: FULL NAME:AGE: SEX: MARRITAL STATUS:NATIONALITY:COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:FULL ADDRESS:PHONE AND FAX NUMBER:MOBILE NUMBEREMAIL ADRRESS:OCCUPATION/POSITION:COMPANY:TICKET NUMBER:SERIAL NUMBER:NAME OF NEXT OF KINADDRESS OF NEXT OF KIN The above information shall be forwarded to our paying bank for verification and immediate release of your fund to your nominated bank account. Congratulations once more, and keep trust in us. Elizabeth Bells.Fiduciary AgentForDIRECTOR OF PROMOTIONS.
Dnia 14 października 2007 18:50 rowena sumagaysay &lt;weng_1974@yahoo.com&gt; napisał(a):
Dear Sir/ Madame,Good day to you!I would like to know what promo is this? Someone sends me a text message Congratulating me that I won $1,300,000 as a promo prize from OPEC promo. The sender is from +2348072481002 and ask me to email to know the details on how I can claim my prize. Please give me some transparent information about this.Thank you so much. Looking forward for your response.Respectfully yours,RowenaYahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam