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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "international lottery programme" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "fudiciary" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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.
  • +2348033597230 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: john williams <shellworld01@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 12:25:16 +0000
Subject: You Have Been Awarded In The SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
LOTTERY Contact Your Claim Agent To



SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LOTTERY PROGRAMMESerial no:7741134002Ref.no:435062725Ticket Number:47001725Licence Number:SPDCL-3215-2020CONGRATULATIONS!!Dear WinnerWe are delighted to inform you of your prize release of 25th Oct,2007 from the Shell Developement Company International Lottery programme. Which is fully based on a electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses fromsome site.Your email address was attached to ticket number;47001725 serial number7741134002 This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows 5-13-33-37-42 bonus number 17,which consequently won the lottery in the second category. You have however been approved a lump sum payment of US$1,200,000.00 (ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS) in cash credit file ref: SPDC/LP/HW 47509/02 from the total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this category.All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, United States,Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually. This lottery was sponsored and promoted by Shell Developement Company International as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the commmunities where they have operational base and beyond. Further more, your details(e-mail address) falls within our African representative office, as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of US$1,200,000.00 will be released to you from this regional branch office in Federal Republic Of Nigeria.To claim your winning prize, you must first contact the claims department by email for processing and remittance of your prize money to you and you have to forward your information with the application letter below.The claims officer contact email is:Name: Jerry MomohEmail: Jerrymomoh123456789@myway.comTel :234-803-3597230For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this 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-participant or unofficial personnel. Note, all winnings MUST be claimed Before 20th Nov 2007; otherwise all funds will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated charityorganisations.Congratulations once again on your winnings!!!To file for your claim, please kindly fill out the claim form below and e-mail it to our fudiciary agent, with the contact above.1.FULL NAMES ?2.ADDRESS3.SEX?4.AGE:?5.MARITAL STATUS:6.OCCUPATION:?7.WINNING REFRENCE NO/E-MAIL ADDRESS:8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:9.AMOUNT WON10. COUNTRY11.YOUR PRESENT ADDRESSBest RegardsMr.Paul Agama
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam