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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:
  • "international lottery programme" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +2348037941578 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "AUSTRALIA LOTTERY" <lotterywinners2@livedoor.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:18:08 +0100
Subject: AWARD NOTIFICATION: FINAL NOTICE


DATE OF DRAW: 10/07/2008,
REFERENCE NO:575061725,
WINNING NO:KB8701/LPRC
BATCH NO:8056490902/188.

AWARD NOTIFICATION: FINAL NOTICE

ATTN: LUCKY WINNER,
WE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU OF THE LOTTERY RESULT WINNERS OF AUSTRALIAN
INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAMMES HELD ON THE 10TH JULY, 2008 FROM THE
AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAMME. WHICH IS FULLY BASED ON AN
ELECTRONIC SELECTION OF WINNERS USING THEIR E-MAIL ADDRESSES? YOUR NAME 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 ARE HERE BY
HAVING BEEN APPROVED A LUMP SUM PAY OF US$400,000.00 (FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND
DOLLARS) IN CASH CREDIT FILE REF: ILP/HW 46704/03 FROM THE TOTAL CASH PRIZE
SHARED AMONGST EIGHT LUCKY WINNERS IN THIS CATEGORY.

DUE TO MIX UP OF SOME NUMBERS AND NAMES, YOU ARE ADVISED TO KEEP YOUR
WINNING INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL YOUR CLAIMS HAS BEEN PROCESSED AND
YOUR MONEY REMITTED TO YOUR NOMINATED BANK. THIS IS PART OF OUR SECURITY
PROTOCOL TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMS AND UNWARRANTED ABUSE OF THIS PROGRAMME BY
SOME PARTICIPANTS. ALL PARTICIPANTS WHERE SELECTED THROUGH A COMPUTER/MAIL
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 WA S PROMOTED AND SPONSORED BY A CONGLOMERATE OF SOME
MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES AND ALSO THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AS PART OF THEIR
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THE CITIZENS IN THE 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$400,000.00 WILL BE RELEASED TO YOU
FROM OUR REGIONAL BRANCH OFFICE. WE HOPE WITH PART OF YOUR PRIZE, YOU WILL
PARTICIPATE IN OUR END OF YEAR HIGH STAKES FOR US$2.3 MILLION INTERNATIONAL
DRAW.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: CONTACT OUR CLAIMS OFFICE UNDER THE AFRICAN PAYMENT
CENTER, AND YOU ARE REQUIRED TO SEND THIS INFORMATION TO HIM CONTACT
PERSON:MR.DENIS SMITH PHONE:+23480-3794-1578,
EMAIL: mr.denissmith@live.com<http://us.f574.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mr.denissmith@live.com>
.

TO FILE FOR CLAIM: PLEASE QUOTE YOUR DATE OF DRAW, REFERENCE NUMBER, BATCH
NUMBER AND WINNING NUMBER,WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON THE TOP-LEFT CORNER OF THIS
MESSAGE. ALSO, YOU SHOULD GIVE IN YOUR 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 HAS BEEN RELEASED TO YOU AND ALSO TO THE PUBLIC. THIS IS PART OF
OUR SECURITY PROTOCOL TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMING AND UNWARRANTED TAKING
ADVANTAGE OF THIS PRO GRAMME BY NON-PARTICIPANT OR UNOFFICIAL PERSONNEL.

NOTE: SEND THIS INFORMATION TO MR.DENIS SMITH
AT: mr.denissmith@live.com<http://us.f574.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mr.denissmith@live.com>
.

ALL WINNINGS MUST BE CLAIMED BEFORE THE 30TH OF JULY
2008: OTHERWISE ALL FUNDS WILL BE FORFEITED.
CONGRATULATIONS ONCE AGAIN ON YOUR WINNING!

BEST REGARDS,
MR.ADAM ROSE.
(LOTTERY COORDINATOR).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam