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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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)
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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.
  • +447024058548 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • mark_mcferrin@yahoo.com
  • regional_claim_office@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Gary Williams" <mr.garywillie3@gazeta.pl>
Reply-To: garywillie77@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 16:44:30 +0100
Subject: YAHOO INC (CONGRATULATION).


Yahoo! Inc.
Customer Care .
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
USA.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Dear Lucky Winner's



This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of Five Hundred
Thousand Dollars (US$500,000.00 ) in the YEAR 2007/2008 YAHOO! Lottery
promotion which is organized by YAHOO! LOTTERY INC for the
introduction and Launching of the new YAHOO BETA MAIL which all YAHOO!
subscribers are required to switch to YAHOO! & MICROSOFT WINDOWS, arranged
and
gathered all the e-mail addresses of the people that are active online,
among the Millions that subscribe at YAHOO!, HOTMAIL and others we only
selected THREE (3) candidates as our winners after undergoing the
random selection process through Electronic Balloting System (E.B.S)
without
the candidate applied, we congratulate you for being one of the people
selected.

PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM
You are to contact the Claim Agent Mr. Mark Mcferrin OR Mr. Usman
Shamsudeen who will issue you a clearance paper as a winning certificate
approved and
certified from our Regional office in London,United Kingdom & West Africa
and your prize
money will be released to you from any of our regional promotion Banks &
Office
as directed by the claim agent. YAHOO! Beta Lottery Prize must be
claimed not later than 14 days from date of Draw Notification in which
Prize
has been won. Note: Any prize not claimed within this period 15 days)
will be forfeited.

IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS:
Batch number.....................YBM-EBS-390AF
Reff number........................YBM-EBS-719AF
Winning number...............YBM-EBS-798AF

These numbers above fall within the United Kingdom, USA and West African
Location files, you are requested to contact him and send your
Identification Numbers and Personal Information to him;

Mr. MARK MCFERRIN
Claim agent and verification officer
Email: mark_mcferrin@yahoo.com
Phone: +447024058548
Address:London,United Kingdom,Great Britain

OR.

MR. USMAN SHAMSUDEEN
Claim Agent & Verification Officer
Email address: regional_claim_office@yahoo.com
Office Phone #: 0112347087535530
Address: 203, Allen Avenue Street,.

You are therefore advised to send the following information to any of our
Claim Office to
facilitate and process the transfer of your fund with any of our Bank
promotion agents.Send your Identification Numbers/Your Personal
Information to him so that he will proceed further for your prize claim
immediately:

PERSONAL INFORMATION
1. Full Name:............................
2. Nationality/Religion:..................
3. Contact Address:.......................
4. Telephone Number:......................
5. Fax Number:............................
6. Date of Brith:.........................
7. Occupation.............................
8. Age....................................
9. Sex....................................
10. Atternative E-mail address:...........
11. Next of Kin of the Beneficlary incase......


You are advised to keep your winning information confidential to avoid
double claim and abuse of the program until your prize is paid to you.

We hope you're enjoying your new Yahoo! Mail account.
Now take the next step and claim your money and say thanks to Yahoo!
You select how to transfer the prize money to you

1. Account Transfer to your nominated account
2. Cheque Delivery

This prize will be released to you from any of our promotional banks as
will be directed by any of our regionalOffice Claim/verification agent.

Thanks to our major network promoters:aol.co.uk and hotmail.com
Any Questions? Visit the Yahoo!
Yahoo! UK & Ireland
Yahoo!
UK & Ireland

Copyright (c) 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam