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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million 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)
  • "hundred thousand us 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)
  • ",000,000" (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)
• 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.
  • +27737436562 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • drcharlesmcmurray@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • drcharlesmcmurray@myway.com

Fraud email example:

From: TINAPA LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL <tinapa238@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <drcharlesmcmurray@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 07:39:24 -0700
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!!



FROM: THE DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT RONALD W. JOHNSON.(TINAPA LOTTO INTERNATIONAL) PRIZE AWARD DEPT. Dear Winner, Congratulations on your winning.

We are pleased to inform you, that as a result of our RECENT LOTTERY DRAWS HELD ON THE 8th January 2008.Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:021-7276083-04 with serial number:31270-0 drew lucky numbers:05-06-12-14-38 which consequently won in the 5th category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay of (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS) in cash credited to file with REF: EGS/3662367114/13. Note that all participants in this lottery program have been selected randomly through a computer ballot system drawn from over 20,000 Officials and 30,000,000 individual email addresses from all search engines and websites,from Asia, Australia, NewZealand, Europe, North and South America,Middle East and Africa, as part of our International Promotions Program.

This is to IMPROVE THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION WORLDWIDE and to ENCOURAGE THE USE OF INTERNET AND COMPUTERS WORLDWIDE.We advise that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been processed and your money remitted to your account.This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants. We look forward to your active participation in our next 4 million dollars slot.To begin the processing of your prize you are to contact your claims agent through our accredited Prize Transfer agents as stated below: Call him on phone immediately you get this message. Name: Dr Charles McMurray.Email: drcharlesmcmurray@gmail.com
drcharlesmcmurray@myway.com Phone: +27-737-436-562 1. Name in full 2. Address 3. Nationality 4. Age 5. Occupation 6. Phone/Fax 7. Batch Number 8. Serial Number You are also advised to provide your claim agent with the above listed information as soon as possible send it to his two email address above. All winnings must be claimed not later than one month After the date of this notice.

TINAPA LOTTO PROGRAM IS A BONUS FOR THE 2010 WORLD CUP SOCCER TO BE HELD IN SOUTH AFRICA. Once again congratulations. Sincerely,RONALD W. JOHNSON.VICE PRESIDENT.TINAPA LOTTO INT'L PROTOCOLS AND GRAND (FOR TINAPA LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL.)
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam