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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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• 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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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.
  • garystraits001@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • mrricharddon@gmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: Gary Straits <garystraits001@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: garystraits@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:04:48 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Congratulations!!!


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: garystraits001@yahoo.com



- Yahoo Awards Center 124 Stockport Road, Longsight, Manchester M60 2DB - United Kingdom Dear Winner, This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of GBP250,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great BritainPounds) for the January, 2009 Promotion which is Organized by YAHOO AWARDS & WINDOWS LIVE. YAHOO! collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and Hotmail and few from other e-mail providers. Six people are selected monthly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners. PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. Yahoo Prize Award must be claimed not later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited. Stated below are your identification numbers: BATCH NUMBER: YPA/07/APA-43658 REFERENCE NUMBER: 2008281522 PIN: 1206 These numbers fall within the England Location file and you are required to contact our fiduciary agent in Manchester and send your winning identification numbers to him; Name of Agent: Mr. Richard Don E-mail: mrricharddon@gmail.com Keep your winning information confidential to avoid making double claim and possible cancellation of winning. Accept our sincere congratulations. Regards, Gary Straits (Prize Administrator) YAHOO & WINDOWS LIVE AWARD WINNERS FOR JANUARY 2009 copyright © 1994-2008 Il Yahoo & Windows Live Award Lottery Inc. 7635 476378 255667460

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam