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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!
  
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• 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:
  • "irish lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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)
  • "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.
  • +447045746575 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "The Irish National lottery" <info@irishlottery.com>
Reply-To: info@altonwilliams-claimsagent.free2all.co.uk
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:41:30 -0600
Subject: Congratulations!!! Your E-mail Just Won 1,000,000.00 Euro (Call Us At +44-70457-46575)

We are pleased to announce to you the draw of the IRISH LOTTERY PROGRAMME
online Sweepstakes International Program held on 10th of January,2007. Your
e-mail address attached to ticket number:56475600545 189 with Serial number
5369/05 drew the lucky number:1-2-12-28-39-41-15, which subsequently won the
LOTTO RESULTS prize.You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of
1,000,000.00 Euro. (One Million Euro) in cash. In order to file out your
claims, you are advised to contact our claim Agent:

Name: Mr. Alton Williams
Tell:+44-70457-46575
+44-70457-46645
Email: info@altonwilliams-claimsagent.free2all.co.uk

1.FULL NAMES:
2.ADDRESS:
3.SEX:
4.AGE:
5.OCCUPATION:
6.MODE OF REMITTANCE: COURIER/BANK
7.TELEPHONE NUMBER:
8. COUNTRY:

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information
confidential.

Sincerely,

Marry Kelly(Mrs)

___________________________________________________________
Fidelity Communications Webmail - http://webmail.fidnet.com

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam