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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")
  • ",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!
• 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.
  • +447045734396 (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.
  • pchclaims444@gmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: allpchclaims13@comcast.net (Publishers Clearing House)
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:30:04 +0000
Subject: YOUR EMAIL EMERGED WINNER OF X560,000.00

We are pleased to announce you as one of the 5 lucky winners of the Publishers Clearing House Monthly draws held for April 2008.All five winners Email Address were randomly selected from a batch of 10,000,000 international emails.Your email address emerged alongside 4 others as acategory 2 winner in this year's Monthly Publishers Clearing House.Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total payout of £560,000.00(Five hundred and Sixty thousand pounds) only. Please contact
the underlisted claims officer as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings,

Name : Mr. Kelley Edwards ESQ:
Email: pchclaims444@gmail.com
Tel : +447045734396

Providing the following informations :
1.NAME:...2.ADDRESS:....3.SEX:...4.AGE:...5.MARITALSTATUS:...6.OCCUPATION:...7.ANNUALINCOME....8.E-MAIL.........9.TELEPHONENUMBER:.....10.AMOUNT WON:......11.STATE:....12.COUNTRY.....13.INDICATE PREFERRED MODE OF PRIZE COLLECTION: (A) CHEQUE(B) TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFER IF BY TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFER (Details of the account where you want your funds transferred). To avoid unnecessary delays and complications. !!!Once Again Congratulations!!!
Yours faithfully, Maryann Carter
Sweepstakes International Program
Contest Department Publishers Clearing House

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam