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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!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: Awards Department ((UKNL))<customerservice@ecourierservice.com>
Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:05:45 -0500
Subject: End Of The Year Awards.

Dear Winner,

You are a winner of the UK National lottery online program that was held on the 25th of November 2007. You have been
approved to claim a lump sum of £590,983.00 (Five Hundred and Ninety Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighty Three GBP) in
cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03.
Contact Our Efficient Courier Service (ECourier Delivery Services) Agent By email.

Mr.Tony Ormsby.
Client Services Manager.
ECourier Delivery Services{ECS}
Email:customerservice@ecourierservice.com

Provide him with the following information to claim your prize

Full Name:
Residence address:
Phone Number:
Country:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:

Congratulations On behalf of all members of the Lottery foundation.

Yours Truly,
Howard Smith
Online Lottery Co-ordinator
The UK National Lottery Foundation

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam