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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
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• 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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million united states dollars" (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 next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Peter Marchant" <petermarchant127@msn.com>
Reply-To: petermarchant@o2.pl
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:45:58 +0000
Subject: GOODNEWS

Dear Friend,

I am the attorney and trustee to the Will of my late client Mr. Morris
Walker.My late client deposited the sum of Seventeen Million United States
Dollars in a bank in Hungary . I have made several attempts to locate any of
my clients relatives without success. I am contacting you to assist in
claiming the money left behind by my client before they get confiscated or
declared unserviceable by the Bank where the deposit was made. All legal
documents to aid your claim for this fund and to prove your relationship
with the deceased will be arranged for. I guarantee that this will be
executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any
breach of the law.
Your help will be appreciated with half of the total sum.
If interested, reply for more details.

Mr.Peter Marchant

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam