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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:
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million 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)
  • "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)
  • ",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)
  • ",500,000" (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)
  • "00,000.00" (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.
  • lottoincorporation@o2.pl (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: australialotto1@utvinternet.com
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:00:55 -0700
Subject: YOU HAVE WON $1.5M AUSTRALIA LOTTO LOTTERY

AUSTRALIA LOTTO LOTTERY INC.
Street Address:
House 41977-98 Street, Kilda Road,
Melbourne VIC 3004, Australia.
[Opens Monday to Friday 8am-5pm AEST].
Ref: 4758961725
Batch: ALLINC 70564943902/188
Winning Number: AULGB2701/LPRC.

October 24, 2007

Attn: Dear Prize Winner,

We are delighted to inform you of your prize release on the
October 19, 2007 from the Australian Lotto Lottery programme
which is fully based on Electronic selection of winners
using their e-mail addresses from the internet.

Your name was attached to ticket number: 47061725
07056490902. Serial number: 7741137002. This batch draws the
lucky numbers as follows 5-13-33-37-42 bonus number 17,
which consequently won the lottery in the first category.
You are hereby have been approved a lump sum pay of One
million, five hundred Thousand United States Dollars only
[US$1,500,000.00] in cash credit file ref: ILP/HW 47509/02
from the total cash prize of hundred Million United States
Dollars [US$100,000,000.00] shared amongst hundred lucky
winners in this category.

All participants were selected from 1,500,000 E-mail
addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an
advanced automated random computer search through the
internet from all the continents of the world as part of
International promotions programme which is conducted
annually. This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by a
conglomerate of some multinational companies as part of
their social responsibility to the citizens in the
communities where they have operational base.

Furthermore, your details (e-mail address) falls within our
European representative office as indicated in your play
coupon and your prize of US$1,500,000.00 will be released to
you from this regional branch office. We hope with part of
your prize, you will participate in our end of year high
stakes for US$1.3 Billion International draw.

HOW TO CLAIM PRIZE:

Simply contact our Claims Officer, Ms. Fabia Baccus, on
email address: lottoincorporation@o2.pl to file for your
claim. Please quote your reference, batch and winning
numbers which can be found on the top left corner of this
notification to help locate your file easily.

For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep these
information confidential from the public until your claim is
processed and your prize released to you. This is part of
our security protocol to avoid double claiming and
unwarranted taking advantage of this programme by
non-participants or unofficial personnel.

Note, all winnings MUST be claimed on or before end of
November 30, 2007, otherwise funds will be returned as
unclaimed and eventually donated to charity organizations.

Any breach of confidentiality on the part of winner will
result to disqualification.

Best Regards,

Mr. Sam Brown
(Advert Manager)

--

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam