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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:

• 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:
  • "claims 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)
  • ",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.
  • +447045747923 (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.
  • dritakis.claimsdept@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Artexpress" <artexpress@det.nsw.edu.au>
Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2008 12:10:11 +1000
Subject: CONTACT CLAIM DEPARTMENT ON EMAIL: dritakis.claimsdept@hotmail.com



FROM: THE LOTTERY COORDINATOR,
GOOGLE LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION / PRIZE AWARD
GOOGLE B.V. 44 9459 PE.
RESULTS FOR CATEGORY "A" DRAWS
Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the results of the First Category draws of E-MAIL LOTTERY organised by GOOGLE INTERNATIONAL. We are happy to inform you that your email address have emerged a winner of One Million (1,000,000.00) Euros, which is the winning payout for Category A winners. This is from the total prize money of Two Million (2,000,000.00) Euro shared among the 2 winners in this category. Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 email addresses of individuals and companies from Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania as part of our International Promotions Program. CONGRATULATIONS! In your best interest to avoid mix up of numbers and names of any kind, we request that you keep the entire details of your award strictly from public notice until the process of transferring your claims has been completed, and your funds remitted to you. NOTE: To file for your claim, please contact the claim department below on email and provide him with the below details for verification.
1.Full Name :
2.Contact Address:
3.Nationality :
4.Age :
5.Sex :
6.Occupation:
7.Phone/Fax:
8.Present Country:
****************
CONTACT PERSON:
MR. DEMIS RITAKIS
EMAIL: dritakis.claimsdept@hotmail.com
TEL: Tel: +44 704 574 7923
***************************
Find below your promotion date, Reference and Batch numbers. Remember to quote these numbers in your correspondence with your claims agent. PROMOTION DATE 7TH OF AUGUST 2008. REFERENCE NUMBER: GLLINT/07/04/768970118. BATCH NUMBER: 78/09/230. Congratulations once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program.
Sincerely Yours,
Artexpress
THE PROMOTION COORDINATOR
**********************************************************************
This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain
privileged information or confidential information or both. If you
are not the intended recipient please delete it and notify the sender.
**********************************************************************

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam