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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.

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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:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claim agent" (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.
  • +447045785038 (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.
  • kosecthomas04@centrum.sk

Fraud email example:

From: "congratulation to you" <promotto@centrum.sk>
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:49:08 +0200
Subject: Congratulations to you


UK NATIONAL LOTTERY &amp; LOTTO
PLEASE QUOTE YOUR WINNING
WINNING INFORMATIONS
REFERENCE Number: MSW-L/200-26937,SECURITY CODE NUMBER: MSW/FEB/XX06,BATCH NUMBER,2005#22,winner NO: 5
winner NO: 5
Dear sir
There was a computer ballot that was organized by the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY &amp; LOTTO. It was not an individual lotto playing, but the computer itself picked out from all over the world, 1,000,000 email addresses and it was selected and picked from the Internet, those email addresses of Participants that was selected and picked from the internet were again selected through a computer ballot system drawn from among the 1,000,000 email addresses of individuals and companies from all part of the world, this is called the computer ballot.
And Eight (8) email addresses was finally picked out from among the total 1,000,000 email addresses, and out of those 8 email addresses, your email address is among the winners on the ballot.
YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WAS SELECTED ON THE COMPUTER PROMOTIONAL BALLOT SYSTEM DRAW, AS ONE OF THE WINNING EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE
INTERNET COMPUTER LOTTERY DRAW.
THE PROGRAM WAS HELD BY THE UK  LEADING LOTTERY ORGANIZATION, KNOWN AS......UK NATIONAL LOTTERY &amp; LOTTO.
THE COMPUTER BALLOT QUALIFIED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS AS ONE OF THE WINNER OF THE SUM OF US$600,000,00 (SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND
UNITED STATES DOLLAR)
FOR MORE ENQUIRIES/INFORMATIONS ON HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE, PLEASE DO CONTACT:
THE PROCCESSING DIRECTOR
CLAIM DEPARTMENT ON EMAIL ADDRESS: 
    Dr. kosec Thomas.
   
  E-mail:  kosecthomas04@centrum.sk
Contact telephone direct hotline +447045785038           
Important Please fill out this and forward your correct winning informations
PLEASE FORWARD THE STATED INFORMATION TO YOUR CLAIM AGENT
A.  YOUR FULL NAME.......,
B. YOUR WINNING E-MAIL.......,
C. YOUR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS..........,
D. YOUR MOBIE &amp; HOUSE PHONE NUMBER......,
E. YOUR AGE ...................
F. YOUR OCCUPATION............,
G  YOUR SEX..................
H.  YOUR COUNTRY............,
Once again Congratulations to you !!
Cordinator.
 

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam