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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!
  
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• 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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: uklottery.claims1@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:20:08 GMT
Subject: Officially For You




UK NATIONAL LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS=3A
P O Box 1010 Liverpool=2C L70 1NL UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)REF No=3AUKNL-L/200-26937
BATCH No=3A2005MJL-01
TICKET No=3A20511465463-7644
SERIAL No=3AS/N-00168
LUCKY No=3A 887-13-865-37-10-83 =

=

FINAL NOTIFICATION
=

This is to inform you that you have been selected for a cash prize of
=A31=2C000=2C000=2E00 (British Pounds) held on the 1st of Octomber 2008 =
in London Uk=2EThe selection process was carried out through random sele=
ction in our computerized email selection system(ess) from a database of=
over 250=2C000 email addresses drawn from which you were selected=2E Th=
e BRITISH UK=2E Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board=2ETo beg=
in the processing of your prize you are to contact our fiduaciary claims=
department for more infomation as regards procedures to claim your priz=
e=2Eplease contact our claims agent=3B Mrs=2EJessica Lambert Email=3A uk=
lottery=2Eclaims1=40yahoo=2Ecom=2Ehk Provide him with the information b=
elow=3A

1=2EFull Name=3A
2=2EFull Address=3A
3=2EMarital Status=3A
4=2EOccupation=3A
5=2EAge=3A
6=2ESex=3A
7=2ENationality=3A
8=2ECountry Of Residence=3A
9=2ETelephone Number=3A Congratulation!!Sincerely=2C

Mrs=2E Rose Wood
for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY=2E
NOTE=3A You are to contact your officer immediately with the official
EMAIL ADDRESS=3A uklottery=2Eclaims1=40yahoo=2Ecom=2Ehk

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam