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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "hundred thousand great british 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)
• 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.
  • +447045776215 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +442063507888

Fraud email example:

From: info.opec1@mchsi.com
Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 13:59:15 +0000
Subject: May 2008 Result

Reference Number: CTC:2551256003/23
Attention Winner
We the Officials of International Awareness Promotion Department of the
ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES,(OPEC) wishes to congratulate
you on your success as the STAR PRIZE WINNER in this years OPEC International
Awareness Promotion (OIAP) held on 6th of may, 2008. This makes you the proud
owner of the cash prize of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Great British
Pounds Only.The selection process was carried out through random selection in
our Computerized GSM/EMAIL Selection System (GSM/E.S.S.) from a database of
over a million GSM numbers and Email Addresses from the Oil Producing
Countries. Each GSM/EMAIL was attached to a ticket number and your number and
Email with ticket number: C55T24 and serial number: CT/556543450906 was
randomly selected as the star prize winner amongst other consolation prize
winners. For you to collect your prizes, kindly contact our claims officer
through this contact below this contact.
Name GEORGE WILLIAMS,
Phone number +44-704-577-6215
Fax: +44 206-350-7888
E-mail: opecclaimsdpt20081111@Terrapins.com

Contact him with the followings.
FULLNAME:......................AGE:............................NATIONALITY:.....
...............COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:...........FULL
ADDRESS:...................PHONE AND FAX NUMBER:...........EMAIL
ADRRESS:..................OCCUPATION/POSITION:............TICKET
NUMBER:..................SERIAL NUMBER:..................NAME OF NEXT OF
KIN.............ADDRESS OF NEXT OF KIN..........

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam