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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.

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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:
  • "the bmw automobile company" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",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)
• 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.
  • +447035902933 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Andy Youngmark <bmw@bmw.org>
Reply-To: bmw_claims_limited2004@live.com
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:56:51 -0700
Subject: BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY 2008 PROMO

BMW (UK) Ltd,Registered Office,
Ellesfield Avenue,Bracknell,
Berkshire RG12 8TA,
United Kingdom.
Tell: +44 70359 02933

The Board of Directors,Members of staff and the International Awareness
Promotion Department of the BMW Automobile Company,wishes to congratulate
you on your success as one of our TEN(10) STAR PRIZE WINNER in this years
BMW Automobile International Awareness Promotion (IAP) held Monday
8Th,2008 in London.

I must say that you should count yourself extremely lucky to have emerged
as one of the winners in this year BMW AUTOMOBILE INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS
PROMOTION 2008.Your email address was randomly selected along with nine
others from a database of over 1,000,000 email addresses drawn from the
WORLD-WIDE-WEB.A ticket number: 5647600545188, serial number: BMW ticket
number was attached to each email address and your email address emerged
and Reference Number: BMW:2551256003/23 emerged as the star ticket
email.Your winning prize has been verified and approved for payment by
this Department.


This makes you the proud owner of a brand new BMW 5 Series,M Sport Saloon
car and a cash prize of £1,000,000.00 GBPs (One Million Great British
pounds).In order to redeem your prizes contact Mr.Klaus Kibsgaard,Bmw
claims Manager of the Claims Department with the verification form below
duely Filled and sent through email to:

This email and any attachments to it contain information that is
confidential and may be privileged. It is for the exclusive
use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient(s)
please note that any form of distribution, copying or use of this Email or
the information contained in it is strictly prohibited and may be
unlawful. If you have received this email in error, please return it to
the sender and delete the email from your records

REPLY TO:
Mr.Klaus Kibsgaard
EMAIL: bmw_claims_limited2004@live.com

VERIFICATION FORM:
1.)Full Name:
2.)Current Address:
3.)Country:
4.)Age:
5.)Sex:
6.)Occupation:
7.)Mobile phone Number:
8.)REFERENCE NUMBER:BMW:2551256003/23


Best Regards,
Mr.Klaus Kibsgaard
BMW Claims Manager.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam