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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "yahoo/msn lottery inc" (no such lottery exists)
  • "yahoo/msn lottery" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "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 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.
  • +447045792599 (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.
  • claimsdept05unit@yahoo.com.hk

Fraud email example:

From: "Zenn, DeAndrea" <DeAndrea.Zenn@LCU.EDU>
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:34:01 -0500
Subject: Confirm Reciept ..................Congratulation



These are your identification numbers:

Batch number.....................YM 09102XN
Reff number.......................YM35447XN
Winning number...................YM09788

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of
Five hundred thousand,Great Britain Pound
Sterlings(£500,000.00)
for the month of June 2008 Lottery promotion which is
organized by YAHOO/MSN LOTTERY INC & WINDOWS LIVE.YAHOO/MSN
& MICROSOFT WINDOWS,collects all the email addresses of the
people that are active online,among the million that
subscribed to INTERNET we only select five people every
Month as our
winners through electronic balloting System without the
winner applying,we congratulate you for being one of the
people selected.

These numbers fall within your Location file, you are
requested to contact the events manager, send your winning
identification numbers to him,to enable him verify your
claims.How ever you will have to fill and submit this form
to the events manager for verification & direction on how
you can claim your winning fund.

Forward the following details to help facilitate the
processing of your
claims:

1.Full Names:
2.Address:
3.Phone Number:
4.Sex:
5.Age:
6.Occupation:
7.Nationality:
8.Country of Residence:
9.Amount Won:
10.Date Notified:

(CONTACT EVENTS MANAGER)
Name:Dr.Christopher Mcdonald
Email:claimsdept05unit@yahoo.com.hk
phone:+447045792599
Thank you and Accept my hearty congratulations once again!

Yours faithfully,
Mrs.Sharon Cole.
(Yahoo/Msn Lottery Games/Lottery Coordinator).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam