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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• 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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: loterryinfo4@comcast.net
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:51:41 +0000
Subject: NOTIFICATION : 10TH GLOBAL PROMO-ORGANIZATION INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM.

10TH GLOBAL PROMO-ORGANIZATION INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

FROM: THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT.
ALFONSTRAAT B56, 1002 BS AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS.

REF: OYL /26510460037/02
BATCH: 24/00319/IPD

Dear Winner,

Your ticket number:023-0148-790-459 with Serial number 5368/05 drew the lucky number: 29

Congratulations, you have just won yourself $850,000 in the satellite software email lottery conducted by GLOBAL PROMO in which e-mail addresses are picked randomly by software powered by the internet. You email address was amongst those chosen this quarter and you are to contact our Claims Agent for Clearance.

----------------------------------------------------------
Here are the contact info:

Claims Agent:
Mrs. Debra J. Morris
Email: claimsagent@10thglobalpromo.org
---------------------------------------------------------

You are to forward the following details to the above email address for immediate payment:

1.Full Names:
2.Address:
3.Age (MUST BE ABOVE 18YRS):
4.Sex:
5.Marital Status:
6.Occupation:
7.Phone and fax numbers :
8.country:

-------------------------------------------------------

Sincerely,
Zack Sonnie.
Promotions Manager.

--

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam