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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:02:11 +0100 (BST)
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR....We are please to announce you as one of the 10 lucky winners .


Spam detection software, running on the system "geezemail.com", has
identified this incoming email as possible spam. The original message
has been attached to this so you can view it (if it isn't spam) or label
similar future email. If you have any questions, see
the administrator of that system for details.

Content preview: FROM THE DESK OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL/PRIZE
AWARD DEPT CONTACT ADDRESS:NO,144 GLOBAL AVENUE VICTORIA ISLAND LAGOS NIGERIA.
WINNING NUMBERS:37-13-43-85-67-11.BV [...]

Content analysis details: (11.0 points, 5.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------
-1.4 ALL_TRUSTED Passed through trusted hosts only via SMTP
3.1 UNCLAIMED_MONEY BODY: People just leave money laying around
0.0 HTML_MESSAGE BODY: HTML included in message
2.3 MIME_HTML_ONLY BODY: Message only has text/html MIME parts
1.0 KAM_LOTTO2 Highly Likely to be a e-Lotto Scam Email
1.0 KAM_LOTTO1 Likely to be a e-Lotto Scam Email
2.6 ADVANCE_FEE_2 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
2.4 ADVANCE_FEE_3 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
0.0 ADVANCE_FEE_4 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam