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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "hundred thousand great british pounds" (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)
  • ",500,000" (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)
  • "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.
  • +447045705495 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "INTERNATIONAL WORLDWIDE INTERNET" <robblank@spiritone.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: ericward_surfl@live.co.uk
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 23:49:13 -0700
Subject: CONGRATULATION YOUR EMAIL HAVE WON

FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORLDWIDE INTERNET USER
LOTTERY PRIZE AWARD DEPT.

Dear Internet User,

YOUR WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR USING THE INTERNET.

You and other category “A” winners are therefore to receive a cash prize of Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Great British Pounds (£2,500,000.00) respectively from the total payout of One Billion Great British Pounds earmarked in the lottery for category “A” winners. Your prize award has been insured with your E-mail address, which qualified you for the lottery and will be transferred to you upon meeting our requirements,

statutory obligations, verifications, validations and satisfactory proof of E-mail address ownership. For further Information about your Winnings,contact our Lottery Fiduciary Agent with the following contact Address.

CLAIMS AGENT.
Name: Mr. Eric Ward
Phone: +44 704 570 5495
Email: ericward_surfl@live.co.uk

You will provide him with the following information:
First name:
Last Name:
Telephone/Fax number:
Nationality:
Age:
Sex:
Occupation:
Amount Won:
Winning Email Address:


Congratulations! Thank you for being a user of the World Wide Web.

Yours Faithfully,
Mrs. Mary Butler.
Lottery Coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam