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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
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• 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:
  • "claims office" (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!
• 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.
  • wilcoxpayout@hotmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: info@promo.org
Reply-To: wilcoxpayout@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:35:46 -0500
Subject: YOUR EMAIL WAS SELECTED

Your ticket number: 023-0148-790-459 with Serial number 5368/05 drew
the lucky number:67-55-28-52-16 We are pleased to notify you that your
email
address emerged as a winner in our promotional lotto sweepstakes and as

a
result you have been granted the lump sum payout of
(500.000.00(G.B.P)which is equivalent to ($917,956.00 USD).
Contact your claims officer below for your claims/winnings
Mr.willians wilcox
EMAIL :wilcoxpayout@hotmail.com
You are to forward the following details to enable us clear your file
for immediate payment.
Fullname:______________Address:___________
Age:_______Sex:_______tel:____________
Country:______________Amount won:________
Sincerely,
Mr.willians wilcox
FREE LOTTO INT

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam