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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "international lottery programme" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "hundred thousand 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)
  • "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.
  • +447031981711 (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.
  • claimsdept03_consults@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • claimsdept_alp025_remt@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: claimsdept03_consults@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:42:16 +0100
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU HAVE WON!!!


*FROM: THE DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARDS
DEPARTMENT AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY COPORATION* * *
*ELECTRONIC MAIL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION AWARD PRESENTATION CENTER:
AUSTRALIA*
*Date: 14/10/2008*
*Ref: 475061725, *
*Batch: 7056490902/188*
*Winning No: GB8701/LPRC:*
* *
* RE: WINNING NOTIFICATION CONGRATULATIONS!!!*
* *
*Dear Sir/Madam;*
* *
* We are delighted to inform you of your prize release on the 14th
October, 2008 from the Australian International Lottery programmed. Which is
fully based on electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses
from some site? Your email address was attached to ticket number; 17212,
serial number 7741137002. This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows
8382-42 bonus number 17, which consequently won the lottery in the second
category. You hereby have been approved a lump sum pay of US$500,000.00
(FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) in cash credit file ref:
ILP/HW 47509/02 from the total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners
in this category. *
* *
* All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn
from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, United
States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania. as part of our
international promotions program which is conducted annually. This Lottery
was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies
as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities
where they have operational base. *
* *
* Further more your details (e-mail address) falls within our European
representative office in Amsterdam, Holland, as indicated in your play
coupon and your prize of US$500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand United States
Dollars Only) will be released to you from this regional branch office
in Nigerian . We hope with part of your prize, you will participate in our
end of year high stakes for US$1.3 Billion international draw.*
* *
* HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: Simply contact our fiduciary agent DIRECTOR, DR.
LEO STEVE AT ( **claimsdept03_consults@yahoo.com*<claimsdept_alp025_remt@yahoo.co.uk>
*) to file for your claim. Please quote your reference, batch and winning
number which can be found on the top left corner of this notification as
well as your full name, address and telephone number to help locate your
file easily. For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this
information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and
your prize released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this programmed by
non-participant or unofficial personnel.*
* *
* Note, all winnings MUST be claimed before the 30th of October 2008;
otherwise all funds will be returned as unclaimed and eventually donated to
charity organization.*
* *
* PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.*
* *
*CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT AT (
**claimsdept03_consults@yahoo.com*<claimsdept_alp025_remt@yahoo.co.uk>
*) ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF THE WINNERS WILL RESULT TO
DISQUALIFICATION.*
* *
*HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE:*
*Simply contact your claims agent DIRECTOR, DR.LEO STEVE AT (**
claimsdept03_consults@yahoo.com* <claimsdept_alp025_remt@yahoo.co.uk>*) by
filling this form below and send it to him to file for your claim. After
emailing him, call him at (TELL: +44-7031981711)*
* *
* FULL NAME............................*
* BIRTH*
* DATE..........................*
* ADDRESS.............................*
* SEX.........................AGE.....*
* NATIONALITY.........................*
* OCCUPATION..........................*
* TELEPHONE...........................*
* EMAIL...............................*
* DATE................................*
* *
*Please quote your reference, batch and winning number which can be found on
the top left corner of this notification as well as your full name, address
and telephone number to help locate your file easily.*
* *
* ANYONE BELOW EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE CAN MAKE HIS/HER CLAIM IN PROXY
THROUGH EITHER OF THE PARENTS AND DO INFORM THE AGENT INCHARGE.*
* *
* Congratulations once again on your winnings!!!*
* *
*Best Regards,*
*Mrs. Nancy Viduka. (Coordinator) *

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam