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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:
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:18:24 +0000
Subject:
=?windows-1256?Q?Information_Needed_For_Prize_Processing_And_Payment=FE?=









STATE LOTTERY PROMOTION

Dear Lucky Winner,

I am in receipt of your message and once again, I wish to congratulate you once more for being a winner in the State Lottery Promotion (State lorre).

All participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web site through computer draws system and extracted from over 10,000.00 companies and personal e-mail addresses. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: B9564 7560 and you have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £500,000.00 (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS STERLING) in cash credited to file EAAL/9080118308/04.

For the processing of your winning prize money and onward release to you, you are advised to have the information below send down to me immediately;

1.Full Name:..................................2.Full Address:.............................3.Marital Statue:.......................................4.Occupation:................................5.Age:...........................................6.Sex:...........................................7.Nationality:.....................................8.Tel.Number:................................9.Country Of Residence....................

You shall be advise on what to do to have your winning prize money release to you upon the receipt of your response. Also, due to possible mix up of some numbers and email contacts, we ask that you keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by some participants of this program.

I await your response.

Regards,
Mr. Gabby Smith.Claim Agent: State Lottery Promotion.
+44 (0) 7024099957+44 (0) 7045765645
_________________________________________________________________
Color coding for safety: Windows Live Hotmail alerts you to suspicious email.
http://windowslive.com/Explore/Hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_safety_112008

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam