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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:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
  • "uk national lottery inc." (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million pounds" (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)
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +447045734890 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +447045728105 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Mr James Smith <smith3james@live.com>
Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:56:30 +1200
Subject: NOTICE !!!

FROM:UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
TICKET NUMBER: 74454774
SERIAL NUMBER: 144-66584
BATCH NUMBER : BT-4478474121P

Date:04-02-08

AWARD FINAL NOTIFICATION:

We happily announce to you the draw (#999) of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY,online Sweepstakes International program held
on the 30th of Jan 2008. You were entered as dependent clients with: SERIAL NUMBER:144-66584 and Batch
numberBT-4478474121P.Your email address attached to the ticket number: 74454774 that drew the lucky winning numbers .
You have been approved for a payment of £800,000.00 (EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS STERLING ) in cash credited to
file reference number: UKL/K5998/U4. This is from a total cash prize of Eight million pounds shared among the ten
international winners in first categories.,


contact our accredited agent for your winnings.

Mr James Smith

E-mail: smith3james@live.com

Tell:+44 70457 34890
+44 70457 34885
+44-70457-28105

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY SECURITY AGENCY.

He is your agent, and responsible for the processing and transfer of your winnings to you. YOUR SECURITY FILE NUMBER
IS Z-90237-Y?67/U4 (keep personal) In other to file for your claim,you have to Contact your Lottery Agent with the
following information and fill out this form;

1. NAMES:..,.SEX:..ADDRESS:.COUNTRY:.....NATIONALITY..PHONE NUMBER
:...OCCUPATION:.. YOUR AGE:..

You are to contact your claims agent whom will advice you on how to claim your Award Prize from the paying bank dept.You
are to choose from the two methods below how you want your Award Prize paid to you.

1: Wire Transfer ( Bank to Bank ).........
2: Courier Service............

Yours faithfully,
Mr James Smith
Online co-ordinator for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
Sweepstakes International Program.
Copyright ? 1994-2008 The UK National Lottery Inc.
All rights reserved. Terms of Service - Guidelines

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam