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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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:
  • "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million 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)
  • ",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.
  • +447045742229 (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.
  • marynelsonpersonal@myway.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mary" <s_personal5@rya-online.net>
Reply-To: marynelsonpersonal@myway.com
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:23:37 GMT
Subject: Attention...........3rdJuly

THE FREE LOTTO COMPANY
UK HEAD OFFICE
SUITE 23-30, LION TOWERS
CENTRAL LONDON ENGLAND

www.freelotto.com

Dear Lucky Winner.

We are pleased to announce to you the draw of the Free Lotto
PRO GRAMME online Sweepstakes International Program held on
1/06/2008.

Your name and e-mail address attached to ticket number:
56475600545 188 with Serial number 5368/05 drew the lucky
number: 10 which subsequently won the LOTTO PLUS 1 prize .

You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of
1,000,000 pounds (One million Pounds) in cash credited to
file KTU/9023118308/05 of Free Lotto.

All participants for the online version were selected
randomly from he World Wide Web through a computer draw
system and extracted from over 50,000,000 unions,
associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online.

This promotion takes place weekly.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our
American booklet representative office in America as
indicated in your playcoupon. In view of this , your
1,000,000 pounds would be released to you by any of our
payment offices in Europe (UK) .

Bear in mind that prizes will strictly be remitted to
winners that officially file in for their claim within the
given time frame.

To begin your claim, you are to forward this message to our
accredited claim agent Including your Contact information's
(full names, telephone/ Mobile numbers, Address...)

To file for your claim contact:

Contact Person : Mrs. Mary Nelson

Email: marynelsonpersonal@myway.com

Tel : + 44-7045742229

Fax : + 44-8712636986

1. Please quote your Reference number in all correspondence
with the claims officer.

2. Winners must send their names, address, telephone number.

3. winners must send identification (international passport
or drivers license) to claim officer to process immediate
payment of their prize.

Your prize award has been insured with your email address
and will be transferred to you upon meeting the requirement
of the gaming board authority which includes your statutory
obligations.

That way your Winnings Certificate and all other relevant
documents/paperwork can be prepared for you. Note Remember,
all winning must be claimed not later than 15/07/2008.
After this date, all funds will be returned as unclaimed.

Please note, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and
complications, remember to quote your reference number and
batch number in all correspondence. Furthermore , should
there be any change of address do inform us as soon as
possible .

In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications ,
please endeavor to quote your Reference Number(
LSUK/2031/8161/05) and Batch Number (R3/A312-59) in every
correspondence with your agent.

Furthermore, should there be any change in your address, do
inform your claims agent as soon as possible.

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning
information confidential till your claims is processed and
your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit
to claim your prize. This is part of our precautionary
measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of
this program. Please be warned .

Good luck from me and members of staff of the Free Lotto
Company.

Yours Faithfully,

Mrs. Mary Nelson.

Online Coordinator for free lotto SWEEPSTAKES PROGRAMME FREE
LOTTO COMPANY

N.B. Anybody under the age of 16 cannot participate in this
programme and any breach of confidentiality on the part of
the winners will result to disqualification.

Copyright © 1999-2008 The teams Lottery Inc.
All rights reserved. Terms of Service - Guideline

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam