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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.

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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 office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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 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.
  • +447045733414 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "MSW LOTTRTY MSW LOTTRTY" <m_soft_0@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 03:54:14 -0800
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION


FROM: THE DESK OF THE E-MAIL PROMOTIONS MANAGER,INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENTMICROSOFT WORD LOTTERY,UKREF NO: MSW-L/200-26937BATCH: 2007MJL-01
ELECTRONIC MAIL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION
DEAR ESTEEMED WINNERWe are pleased to inform you of the announcement todayof winners of The MSW MEGA JACKPOT LOTTO WINNINGSPROGRAMS held earlier this year,2007. Your company or your personal e-mail address, is attached toWinning number 20-12DEC-2005-02MSW, with serial number S/N-00168 drew the lucky numbers 887-13-865-37-10-83,and consequently won in the first lottery category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay outof £500,000.00 GBP (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS STERLING) credited tofile REF NO: MSW-L/200-26937.
This is from total prize money of £2,500,000.00 GBP (TWO MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS STERLING), shared among the Five (5) international winners in this category. All participants were Selectedthrough our Microsoft computer ballot system drawn form 21,000 names, 3,000 names from each continent,as part of International "E-MAIL" PromotionsProgram, which is conducted annually for our prominent MS WORD user all over the world, and for the continuous use of E-mail.
To claim your winning prize, you must first contact the claims Department by email for processing and remittance of your prize money to you. The claimsofficer contact email is:
Name: Mr. William ButlerE-mail: contact_williamstones@yahoo.comTel: +4470-4573-3414
AND PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ARE TO FILL AND SENDTHE BELOW INFORMATIONS REQUIRED TO CLAIMYOUR WINNING PRIZE TO YOUR CLAIMS OFFICER:
*FULL NAMES**NATIONALITY**AGE**SEX**MARITAL STATUS**CONTACT ADDRESS**TELEPHONE NUMBER**OCCUPATION**WINNING E-MAIL ADDRESS**REF/WINNING NUMBERS**TOTAL AMOUNT WON*
Upon receipt of the duly requested data, He will send you the contact information of the payment office soyou can proceed with effecting therelease of your claimin anyway you deem fit, submit back immediately.
Sincerely,Mr. Steve ScottFor MS WORD LOTTO UK.

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam