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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:

• 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:
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • +2348073986360 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
  • 234788989
• 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.
  • ecowas@rocketmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: ecowas@rocketmail.com
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:31:53 +0100
Subject: DEAR BENEFICIARY!



Ecowas Online Donations 2008
101 Yakubu Gowon Cresent
Abuja, Nigeria. West Africa.
Fax: 234-788989
Office Line: +2348073986360
Website: www.ecowas.int
Email: ecowas@rocketmail.com

Dear Beneficiary: Call the office line immediately for
verification!

This is to inform you that you have won a prize donation of
Two Hundred and FiftyThousand United States Dollars,
($250,000.00) for this year 2008 Lottery promotion which is
organized by ECOWAS ONLINE DONATIONS in conjuction with the
WORLD BANK.

ECOWAS, collects all the email addresses of the people who
are active online, among the millions that subscribed to the
Internet. We only select ten people every Year as our
winners through electronic balloting System without the
winner applying, we congratulate you for being one of the
people selected.

You are to contact the events manager on or before your date
of Claim, Winners Shall be paid in accordance with his/her
Settlement Centre. Ecowas Donations Prize must be claimed
not later than 10 days from date of Winning Notification
after the Draw. Any prize not claimed within this period
will be forfeited.

These are your identification numbers:

Winning number....................ECW 09788XN

*Name of Beneficiary:
*Contact Address:
*Age:
*Mobile Number:
*Occupation:
*Country/Code:
*Nationality:
*Next of Kin(If any):


These numbers fall within your Location file, you are
requested to contact the event manager and send your
winning identification numbers and your personal details to
him, to enable him verify your claims via the above email
contact and call the office line for your mail confirmation.

Note that you are expected to visit our office for claims
with your current form of identity to avoid fraudulent
activities by individuals or you indicate to us your
interest in our affliate courier service.

Mr. Jerry Gribson
Event Manager/Cordinator.

Thanks! Congratulations once again from the Ecowas Online
Donations Board.

Mrs. Ruth Williams.
Ecowas Admin Secretary.
For the Management.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam