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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:

• 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:
  • "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)
  • "i have a new email address!" (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• 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.
  • unitedstatesofamericalottery@rocketmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • james-welch@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: james-welch@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 08:49:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Winning Notification


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: unitedstatesofamericalottery@rocketmail.com



- Date:25/10/2008 Ref 575061725 Batch: 8056490902/188 Winning no: KB8701/LPRC CONGRATULATION!! We are delighted to inform you of your winning on the 20th of October 2008 from the United States of America International Lottery Programme which is partially based on an electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses. Your e-mail address was attached to ticket number; 575061725 8056490902 serial number 6741137002 .This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows: 4-13-33-37-42 bonus number 17,which consequently won the lottery in the second category. All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from USA,Canada, Australia, Asia, Europe,Middle East, and Africa 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 and you are entitled with a huge lump of $2,000,000.00. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our African booklet representative office in Accra Ghana (Africa)as indicated in your play coupon.In view of this, your US$2,000,000.00 (Two Million United States Dollars)would be released to you by our United States of America International Lottery Programme (OFFICE)in Accra Ghana Africa. Our Africa Agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of you! r funds as soon as you contact him. HOW TO FILE YOUR CLAIM: Simply contact our Africa Agent, with below informations; Dr James Welch Official Email: james-welch@hotmail.com CLAIMS REQUIREMENT 1. FULL NAME: 2.REF NUMBERS: 3. BATCH NUMBER: 4. WINNING NUMBER: 5. TOTAL AMOUNT WON: Please quote your Date of draw, Reference Number,Batch Number and Winning Number, which can be found on the top-left corner of this message.Also, you should give in your telephone number to help locate your file easily. For security reasons, we advice the winner to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and been released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this programme by non-participant or unofficial personnel. Note: all winnings MUST be claimed before 30th of October 2008; otherwise the fund will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity. Congratulations once again on your winning! Best Regards. Mr. Mac Garreth (For the co-ordinator) Copyright © 1968-2008 United States Of America Lottery Inc All Rights Reserved.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam