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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:
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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million united states dollars" (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)
• 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.
  • +2348065623504 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
  • +2348067802280 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Shell Award <spdc50@msn.com>
Reply-To: <dr_maurice2001@live.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2008 11:05:48 +0000
Subject: Contact Dr. Maurice



Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria






=======================================================================================
Shell Industrial Area, Rumobiakani, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Tel: +234 806 562 3504
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



BATCH REF: OCT/2008/YY

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of Three Million United States Dollars (US$3,000,000.00) for the 2008 International E-mail draw which was organized by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

SPDC collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo, Aol, Walla, Gmail, Russian Mail and Hotmail
and few from other e-mail providers. Six people are selected yearly
through a computer ballot to benefit from this promotion and you are
one of the Selected Winners.

CLAIM OF PRIZE:

Winners
shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. Shell Award
must be claimed not later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification.
Any Prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited.

Stated below is your identification number:
REFERENCE NUMBER: SPDC-081511

This numbers fall within the Nigerian Location file, you are requested to contact our fiduciary agent in Port Harcourt [Dr. Maurice Owen] with the details below and send your winning identification numbers to him so that he can assist you claim your prize;

E-Mail: dr_maurice2001@live.com
TEL: +234-8067802280

He
shall immediately commence the process of your claim as soon as he
receive your Reference Number, so kindly contact him now on this
information. E-Mail: dr_maurice2001@live.com
TEL: +234-8067802280

Congratulations!! once again.

Yours in service, Dr. (Mrs.) Faith Chuku [Publicity Secretary]

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam