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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:

• 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")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "foreign service manager" (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 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.
  • bigbenholdingsltd@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: MAC EURO MEGA ONLINE <macmguk36@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:23:46 +0000
Subject:
=?Windows-1252?Q?Your_email_address_has_won_=A32.5million(Contact_Your_Cl?=
=?Windows-1252?Q?aim's_Agent)_?=




Dear Internet User,
YOUR WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR USING THE INTERNET. We are pleased to inform you that one of the best things that can happen to any Internet user is to be rewarded for spending money and time on theInternet.You may not have known that over one million people daily surf the Internet on regular basis for one reason or other. These Internet usersincluding yourself, pay access fees to various Internet Service Providers (ISP) all over the word who in turn remit surplus funds to the numerousWorld Wide Internet Technology Companies (WWITC) for the development and advancement of Global Information Technology.

So much money is generated from people like you all over the World for using the Information Superhighway (the Internet) without your being aware the enormous sum that go to the stake holders (WWWITC). Without your patronage,this would not have been possible. After we conducted a research on theissue, we concluded that Internet users should be compensated. As a result,we embarked on a worldwide lottery promotion with a sophisticated automated database to randomly select E-mail accounts that frequently surf theInternet.Consequent upon this, your E-mail address was picked for Category'A'Winner.After the automated computer ballot, You/Your Company e-mail Address attachedwith Ref #: L/200-26937 and Batch: 2007MJL-01 with serial number 000-15drew The lucky numbers 25-1-06-7-34-23 and consequently won in the Third quarter of the 2007 year draw.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of £2,500,000(Two Million Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds Sterling) in cash, which is the winning payout for First category winner.To file for your claim, please contact our claims agent below;

Mr.Samuel RichmondForeign Service Manager Bigben Holdings LtdEmail:bigbenholdingsltd@yahoo.com.hk TEL:44-702-402-9631

For due processing and remittance of your prize money,Remember you mustcontact your claim agent not later than two weeks After thisdate,otherwise,all funds will be returned as Unclaimed.Please contact your claims manager and provide him with the requested information below so that he can Expedite the processing of your claims.
1.Full Name:2.Full Address:3.Marital Status:4.Occupation:5.Age:6.Sex:7.Nationality:8.Country Of Residence:9.Telephone/Fax Number:10:Your winning Batch and Reference Numbers:

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, pleaseremember to quote your Reference and Batch numbers in every one of yourcorrespondences with your agent. Furthermore you are seriously advised to keep all winning lottery information and numbers from the public in line with our company security protocol to avoid double claiming andunwarranted abuse of this program by unscrupulous individuals. Again, should there be any change in your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from all members and staff of this program.

Sincerely,Mrs. Rose WoodAWARDS MANAGER.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam