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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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million 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)
  • ",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)
  • "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)
  • "i have a new email address!" (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• 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.
  • +447031866881 (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.
  • pmicrosoft0020@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr.\(Mrs\)Felicia Dan" <pmicrosoft0020@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: mr.vincentbrown@informaticos.com
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:21:23 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Congratulation!Congratulation!!Congratulation!!!.


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: pmicrosoft0020@yahoo.com



- Yahoo Awards Center.BRITISH MICROSOFT E-MAIL SELECT AWARD FROM HEAD OFFICES LONDON.British Microsoft Award Headquarters: Customerservice33 Yatch Basin Marina Office UponTyne Newcastle London . Attn:Winner. Your email address have just won a Yahoo cum Windows live prize money of (ONE MILLION BRITISH POUNDS STERLING) (GBP£1,000,000.00) today 14th August,2008. Award winners emerge through random selection of all active email subscribers online. Six are selected monthly to benefit from this promotion. PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM Winners are to be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Centre. This Prize Award must be claimed in not later than 15 days from date of draw notification after which unclaimed prizes are cancelled. WINNER NO: 2 These are your identification numbers: BATCH NUMBER:MFI/07/APA-43658 REFERENCE NUMBER: 2007234522 AWARD WINNING NO: 2 These numbers fall within the UK file.Thus, you are requested to contact our fiduciary agent in United Kindom and send your winning identification numbers to him: CONTACT OUR AGENT: MR.VINCENT BROWN. UNITED KINGDOM MICROSOFT AWARD REPRESENTATIVE AGENT IN UNITED KINGDOM MICROSOFT ACCREDITED CLAIMS AGENT: MR.VINCENT BROWN. 6115 LILIAN ROAD, NEW CASTLE, 2092 P O BOX 906171 Gallow gate. HOTLINES: +447031866881 +4407031821708 +4407031874710 FAX LINE: +448704791619 Email: claimagent@comerciales.es OR Email: mr.vincentbrown@informaticos.com Kindly send the following information to your claim agent to facilitate the release of your fund. 1. Full Names: 2. Date of birth: 3. Sex: 4. Marital status: 5. Nationality: 6. Contact Address: 7. Telephone Number: 8. Next of kin: 9. Occupation: Congratulations!! once again. Yours in service, Dr.(Mrs)Felicia Dan NOTE You are hereby advised not to disclose the content of this Prize Award until your money have been remitted to you to avoid disqualification that will arise from dual claim. Best Regard, DR. Felicia Dan (Mrs) Lottery Board

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam