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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "22 garden close, stamford" (address often used in fake lottery scams)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "million 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)
• 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 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.
  • euro201award@yahoo.com.hk

Fraud email example:

From: =?utf-8?q?Euromultimedia=20Award?= <euro23award@yahoo.com.co>
Reply-To: euro21award@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:05:56 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Your prize


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:euro23award@yahoo.com.co



- EURO MULTIMEDIA LOTTERY AWARD 22 Garden Close, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 2YP, London United Kingdom. Reference number 3772-554 Batch numbers 7-14-18-23-31-45 Dear Winner, We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Euro Multimedia international programs held on the 18th of Aug, 2007. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 27522465896-6453 with reference number 3772-554 and batch numbers 7-14-18-23-31-45 which consequently won in the 2nd category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of #2,000,000 POUNDS (TWO MILLION POUNDS). CONGRATULATIONS!!! METHOD OF SELECTING WINNERS: participants were selected anonymously through a private ballot system (computer ballot) from over 35,000 companies and 70,000 individual e-mail addresses all over the world. At the final draw your e-mail address emerged as the winner of our last jackpot.This promotional program takes place bi-annually, and it is promoted and sponsored by Orient software corporation (Orient Networks). It is met to reward some individuals and corporations who have devoted their time and resources surfing the world wide web (www) with their email addresses.We look forward to your active participation in our next year #50 million slot.You are requested to contact our clearance office to assist you with the claim and transfer of your winnings fund into your instructed account by acknowledging the receipt of this mail with the name and email address below, email;euro201award@yahoo.com.hk Note that, all winnings must be claimed not later than one month. After this date all unclaimed funds will be null and void. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications,remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all correspondence.Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once more and thank you for being part of our promotional program. NOTE: YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED IF YOU ARE BELOW 18 YEARS OFAGE. Yours faithfully, mrs. M. Baker

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam