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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
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• 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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • ",000,000" (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.
  • +27832079074 (South Africa, 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.
  • william_wemba@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: result dept <result_dept1917@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:29:06 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A WINNER









CONGRATULATIONS!!!

SOUTH AFRICAN SWEEPSTAKES WORLD CUP 2010 FREE LOTTERY DRAW , JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA.

CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A WINNER


THE DESK OF SANDRA WALES RESULTS DEPARTMENT, SWEEPSTAKES ONLINE LOTTERY DEPARTMENT. #24 Lyndhurst Road, HIGHLAND NORTH, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA. REFERENCE NUMBER: 2006234522 LOTTO PIN CODE NUMBER: 6520

Dear Sir/Madam Winning Notification. Following the results of our annual Lottery draws concluded on the 19th of October 2007 we are pleased to inform you, that your e-mail address attached to E-mail Ticket Number 27522465896-532 with File Number 652-662 drew lucky Winning Numbers 06-08-10-19-30-42 Bonus 08 which consequently won in the final category. You are one of the winners and therefore have been approved for a lump sum pay out of $1.720,000.00 US (One Million Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand United States Dollars). All participants in this lottery program have been selected randomly through a computer ballot system drawn from over 20,000 companies and 30,000,000 individual email addresses from all search engines and web sites. This promotional program takes place every year, and is promoted and sponsored by many corporate organizations for the 2010 world cup that will be host by South Africa. For security purpose and clarity, we advise that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claims and unwarranted abuse of this program as we shall not be held responsible for any false claim.

You are requested to contact your payment officer, Name: Mr. William Wemba
Email: william_wemba@yahoo.com
TEL.:+27-83-207-9074

Call him on phone immediately you receive this mail so that he can secure your file and give you the procedure on how the fund will be remitted to your account.

To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your reference/Pin numbers in any correspondences with your payment officer.All winnings must be claimed not later than 14 days from the date of this notice congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this program.

Thank you for being part of our promotional lottery program.
Sincerely, Mrs. Sandra Wales HaanDirector: Result department Sweepstakes Free Lottery Promotion.


Our Second Quarter Winner Mrs. Ali Fatima from Nepal receiving her winningcheque of US$1,900,000.00 also on the picture is her husband and friends rejoicing with them.
_________________________________________________________________
Help yourself to FREE treats served up daily at the Messenger Café. Stop by today.
http://www.cafemessenger.com/info/info_sweetstuff2.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_OctWLtagline

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam