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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:
  • "hundred thousand u.s 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)
  • "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 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.
  • +31619317420 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "ecf"<ecfdatabase@excite.com>
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:32:55 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: IN A GIVEN TIMELINE


E-Commerce Foundation International. Regional Office: Heidelberglaan 23481 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Attention: Your email was successful in our recent Email Sweepstake We are using this avenue to notify you of your success in our recently conducted international email ballot draw which was in collaboration with Euro Million International Lottery where e-ticket and batch numbers were assigned to the over 350,000 email addresses randomly selected through an electronic random selection system (ERSS) from all countries around the world and used for the sweepstake (no ticket was sold). Your email won in the first category draw and therefore entitled to a payout of $3,200,000.00 (Three million two hundred thousand U.S Dollars) Only. Your E-ticket number is 03 1 092 900 ECF, Batch Number: EU-LW027541 and winning numbers are 22-30-34-35-44*4*5. You are therefore required to SEND the following details:1.) FULL NAMES2.) ADDRESS (not P.O. Box); 3.) TELEPHONE NUMBER4.) AND WINNING
EMAIL ADDRESS to the Claims Processing Coordinator,PROFESSOR MANDER BOUW, representing E-commerce Foundation International/Euromillion International Lottery.Telephone number: +31 619 317 420Email:ecfwinners1@searchmachine.comNOTE: We will payout money strictly to winners who officially file in for their prize claims .You are also to keep all winning information away from the general public especially your E-ticket number and winning numbers. (This is important as cases of double claims will not be entertained).Persons under 18 years and members of affiliate agencies are not eligible to participate in this programmeCONGRATULATIONS!!!!!Yours faithfullyMarijm Vancosky.Executive secretary E-Commerce Foundation International"The information in this email contains confidential information and is intended solely for the attention and use of the named addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorized to and must not disclose copy, distribute or retain this
message or any part of it."

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam