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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
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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:
  • "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 u.s 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "AUSTRALIAN LOTTO OFFICE" <infoauslottery@mailbox.hu>
Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 09:11:37 -0400
Subject: AUSTRALIA LOTTO LOTTERY INC


*
AUSTRALIA LOTTO LOTTERY INC.
5th Floor East Commonwealth Center
AUSTRALIA LOTTO LOTTERY INC.
5th Floor East Commonwealth Center
55 Currie Street Adelaide SA 5000,
South Australia.

WINNING NOTIFICATION
We are delighted to inform you of the result of the E-mail address ballot
lottery draw of the Australian cash-out lotto by international program,
which
took place on the 25th May 2008. This is a computer generated lottery of
Internet
users using email addresses for draws. This lotto draw is fully based on an
electronic
election of winners using their e-mail addresses from different World Wide
Web
(www) sites. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:
4706172507056490902
drew the lucky numbers and bonus ball number which subsequently won you the
lottery in the 2nd category. You have therefore been approved to claim a
total sum
of US$250,000.00 (TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND U.S DOLLARS) in cash credit file
ref:ILP/HW 47509/02. This is from the total cash prize of US$4,000,000
Million Dollars,
shared amongst the first Ten (10) lucky winners in this category. All
participant were
selected randomly through a computer balloting system drawn from Nine
hundred
thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, United States, Asia,
Europe, Middle
East, Africa and Oceania as part of our international promotions program
which is conducted
annually.This Lottery is being promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of
Multinational
companies as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the
communities where they
have operational base. Further more your details (e-mail address) falls
within our European
representative office in Amsterdam, Holland, as indicated in your play
coupon and your prize
of US$250,000.00 will be released to you from our regional branch office in
Nigeria.We hope
with part of your prize, you will participate in our end of year high stakes
for US$1.3 Billion
international draw.Our agent will immediately commence the process to
facilitate the
release of your funds as soon as you contact him.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE
Contact your claims agent: Rev. John Uba
email: (rev_johnuba@live.com)

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU QUOTE YOUR BELOW WINNING PARTICULARS
WHEN CONTACTING YOUR AGENT:
Ref: 4758961725
Batch: ALLINC 70564943902/188
Winning no: FGNGB2701/LPRC

Fill this form below and send it to him to file for your claim.

LOTTERY WINNERS APPLICATION FORM OF PAYMENT.
FULL NAME................................
DATE OF BIRTH..................................
SEX..................................
AGE..................................
MARITAL STATUS..............................
NATIONALITY..................................
OCCUPATION.....................................
TELEPHONE......................................
FAX...............................................
EMAIL................
DATE.........................................
WINNER REF/BATCH NO.....................APPROVED FOR PAYMENT.

Please quote your reference, batch and winning number which can be found
on the top left corner of this notification as well as your full name,
address
and telephone number to help locate your file easily. For security reasons,
we advice all winners to keep this information confidential (VERY SECRET)
from the public until your claim is processed and your prize money
remitted/released
to you. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming
and
unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements, equally to
guard against non participant or unofficial personnel taking undue advantage
of
this program. Note that, all winnings MUST be claimed by a STIPULATED TIME
(ON OR BEFORE 10th JUNE 2008); otherwise all funds will be returned as
Unclaimed
and eventually be reabsorbed into our next lucky dip sweepstakes.

Congratulations once again on your winnings!!!

Yours in service
Sincerely,

Mrs. Linda Boko (Online coordinator)
AUSTRALIAN LOTTO INC.


*

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam