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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.

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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)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • 2347023075136

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: fidiciary@live.com
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:39:38 -0800 (PST)
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:houselottery97@yahoo.com.co



- 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 REF:S6376527711 BATCH:S7151085135 Attn: Winner, We are please to announce to you as one of the 10 lucky winners in National the Free Lotto draw held on the 20th OF SEPT. 2008. All 10 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 50,000,000 International emails. Your email address emerged alongside 9 others as a category one winner in this year's Annual FreeLotto Draw. Consequently,you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of $1.500,00USD(one million, Five hundred Thuosand (Dollars only) CONGRATULATIONS!!! Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims has been processed and your money Remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 40,000 company and 20,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every year. This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Association of software producers. We hope with part of your winning,you will take part in our next year US$20 million international lottery.For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is a part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements. Please be warned. To file for your claim, please Call or email our fiduciary agent with the below details for processing of your claims: NAME:DR FRANK WILLIAMS.(CHIEF FINANCIAL DIRECTOR NATIONAL LOTTERY NIGERIA LTD.) Tele:234-702-3075136 EMAIL:fidiciary@live.com Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than 30th NOVEMBER,2008.After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake.Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications please remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all correspondence.Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible.Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program. Yours faithfully, Mrs. Laura Obi.AFRO-ASIAN Zonal Coordinator. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL BECAUSE YOU MIGHT NOT BE ATTENDED TO. KINDLY CONTACT YOUR FIDUCIARY AGENT DIRECTLY FOR FURTHER DIRECTION

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam