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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "international lottery programme" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (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)
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Us Lottery" <us.lttr6@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 09:32:11 -0700
Subject: YOU ARE A WINNER,CONTACT YOUR CLAIM AGENT


*
Ref: 575061725
Batch: 8056490902/188
Winning Numbers: 1 2 26 30 40 21
04/07/08

ATTENTION: Lucky Recipient,

We are delighted to inform you of your prize release on the 4th of July 2008
from the United States International Lottery programme, which is fully based
on an electronic selection of winners using their email addresses from some
site. Your email address was attached to ticket number;
675061725 9356460902, serial number 67749137002.This batch draws the lucky
numbers as follows 2-9-23-35-46 bonus number 14, which consequently won the
lottery in the second category. You hereby have been approved alump sum pay
of US$400,000.00 (FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) in cashcredit file ref:
ILP/HW 46704/03 from the total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners
in this category.

All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn
from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia,United
States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania as part of our
international promotions program which is conducted annually. This Lottery
was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies
as part of their social responsibility to the citizens inthe communities
where they have operational base.

Further more your details (e-mail address) falls within our European
representative office in Amsterdam, Holland, as indicated in your play
coupon and your prize of US$400,000 will be released to you from this
regional branch office in NIGERIA. We hope with part of your prize, you
will participate in our end of year high stakes for US$1.3 Million
international draw.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE
Simply contact our Regional Claims Office under the African Payment Center
where your winning falls.

Contact Person: Mr.Wilson Kewell
Email: rev.georgeharris2@live.com


To file for your claim: Please quote your reference, batch and winning
number which can be found on the top left corner of this notification as
well as your full name, address and telephone number to help locate your
file easily. For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this
information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and
your prize released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this program by
non-participant or unofficial personnel.

Note all winnings must be claimed before 55th of July 2008 otherwise all
funds will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually to the United States
National Treasury.

Congratulations once again on your winnings!!!

Best Regards,
Mr. John Roland (Coordinator)
US Lottery Inc.
CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT AT:
rev.georgeharris2@live.com

ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF THE WINNERS WILL RESULT TO
DISQUALIFICATION.

Copyright 1969-2008 United States Lottery International

**
*

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam