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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.

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:
  • "national lottery promotion" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "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)
  • ",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!

Fraud email example:

From: Mrs. Kate Ghoi <Barr. GodfreyWilliams@aol.nl>
Reply-To: claimlot@aim.com
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:57:14 +0100
Subject: CONFIRM YOUR WINNING


STAATSLOTERIJ NL
INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROMOTION
POSTBUS 3334
5902 RH VENLO

TICKET: STL 106012-08

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners =
International programs held on the 8th March 2008.

Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 106012-08 with serial number =
8542189-92 which consequently won in the 1st category, you have therefore =
been approved for a lump sum pay out of =80 500,000.00(Five Hundred Thousand =
Euros).

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning =
information confidential until your claims has been processed and your money =
Remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double =
claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.

All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from =
over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from =
all over the world. This promotional program takes place every year.

This lottery was promoted and sponsored by StaatsLoterij NL and some other =
eminent personalities like Mr. Bill Gates and the sultan of Brunei, we hope =
with part of your winning you will take part in our next year =8020 million =
International Promotion lottery.

To file for your claim, please contact our Agent Processing/Verification =
Officer:

Dr. Evans Williams
Verification/Operations Director,
TEL: 0031.619-703-948
FAX: 0031-84753-9200
email: Staatsloterij.nl@aol.nl

Remember all winning must be claimed not later than 25th March 2008.after =
this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake. Please note =
in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications endeavor to quote your =
reference and batch numbers inall first correspondence.

Furthermore, should there be any change of address doinform our agent as soon =
as possible. We hope with part of your winning you will take partin our next =
year 30 million dollars international lottery.

Congratulations!!!
Once more from our members of staff, we thank you for being part of our =
promotional program.Note: anybody under the age of 18 is automatically =
disqualified.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs Kate Ghoi,
Public Relation Officer.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam