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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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.

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:
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claims office" (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)
  • ",500,000" (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 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.
  • garluis688@aol.com

Fraud email example:

From: "de lotto award" <delotto48@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:45:47 +0100
Subject: WERKEN BIJ DE LOTTO,


WERKEN BIJ DE LOTTO,
41132, NL-1007 DB AMSTERDAM,
THE NETHERLANDS.

FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
REF: AST341739DS
ATTN:
AWARD NOTIFICATION; FINAL NOTICE
We are pleased to inform you of the announcement
today, 27TH FEBUARY, 2008, of winners of the WERKEN
BIJ DE LOTTO/ INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS held on 18th Febuary 2008,were our
winners were listed and you can also view the listing on our website
www.werken-bij-delotto.net.
You / your company, attached to ticket number
013-2316-2002-477, with serial number A025-09 drew the lucky numbers
37-13-34-85-56-42, and consequently won in category B.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay
out of US$2,500,000.00 in cash credited to file REF
NO. REF: AST341739DS. This is from total prize
money of US$15,000,000.00 shared among the six(6)
international winners in the category B. All
participants were selected through a computer ballot
system drawn from 30,000 names from Australia, New
Zealand, America, Asia, Europe,USA and North America
as part our International Promotions Program, which is conducted annually.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Your fund is now deposited with a Finance and Security House and insured in
your name. Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep
this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed
and your money remitted to your account. This is part of our security
protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants of
this program.
We hope with a part of you prize, you will participate in our end of year
high stakes US$1.3 billion International lotto.
To begin your claim, please contact your claims
officer immediately:
---------------------------------------
Luis Garcia
Account Director
Eurolex Consultancy and Security S.L
EMAIL:garluis688@aol.com
---------------------------------------
For due processing and remittance of your prize money
to a designated account of your choice. Remember, you
must contact your claims officer not later than
MARCH 25th, 2008. After this date, all funds will be returned as unclaimed.
All correspondences to Mr.
Andrew Vangen,either by fax or email, should have this email sent along with
it and also, your email address to which this email is sent, should be
clearly and boldly written in your response.
NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and
complications, please remember to quote your reference number in every one
of your correspondences with your officer. Furthermore, should there be any
change of your address, do inform your claims officer as soon as possible.
Congratulations again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our
promotions program.

Sincerely,
THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,
WERKEN BIJ DE LOTTO.
www.werken-bij-delotto.net
N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the
winners will result to disqualification. Please do not reply this mail.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam