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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.

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:
  • "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "affidavit of claim" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
  • "hundred thousand great british pounds" (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)
  • "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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.
  • +447031956670 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448704956313 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Yahoo Windows Claim Office <claimoffice@yahoowindowsliveaward.org>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 13:09:45 +0000
Subject: =?windows-1256?Q?Prize_Paym?= =?windows-1256?Q?ent_Option?=
=?windows-1256?Q?s!!=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE?=
=?windows-1256?Q?=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE?=
=?windows-1256?Q?=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE?=
=?windows-1256?Q?=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE=FE?=




Google 10th Anniversary Awards Centre,
94 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RY, United Kingdom.





Dear Award winner

Attention : Hedy van engeldorp Gastelaars

This is to acknowledge the receipt of the requested data and the confirmation of your reliability in our 10th Anniversary Awards promotion.

The original copy of your award certificate and two other documents (Money Laundering Certification & an affidavit of claim as an Award winner) from the British Government stating that the money was legally obtained through the Google 10th Anniversary Awards promotion programme will be sent to you via FedEx courier as soon as you meet with any of the optional requirements listed below. Meanwhile, your winning certificate will be sent to you first via email attachment so as to enable you acknowledge the correct spelling & arrangement of your names.

We wish to inform you that all authorities involved have certified payment of your Award all amounting to Five Hundred Thousand Great British Pounds (£ 500, 000.00) which is your prize money from Google Anniversary awards, a for-profit philanthropic wing of Google UK which was organised & drawn through a computer ballot system from a combination of different email directories around the globe. Be informed that instruments for payment for the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Great British Pounds (£ 500,000.00) to you is already in our possession and would be processed upon meeting the requirements of your selected payment Option. You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize into your Bank account or dispatching of a Certified Bank Cheque through FedEx Courier to your nominated address.

The options, together with their associated conditions are presented below:

Option 1: Your Awards Legal Documents & a Certified Bank Cheque for Five Hundred Thousand Great British Pounds (£ 500,000.00) will be sent to you via FedEx Courier service, which is our assigned courier company. FedEx Courier service would bring your awards documents & Certified Bank Cheque to the address you provided us with as written below (You are allowed to correct or amend your contact information in your next mail):

Name : Hedy van engeldorp Gastelaars
Address : Jan van Gentstraat 42 1755PC Petten the Netherlands




You will be required to send your international passport, driver’s license or ID card to us via email attachment as it will be used for a proper identification of you during delivery of your Award documents and Certified Bank Cheque by the FedEx Courier Service.

Option 2: Your prize money will be wired to your bank account via an automated direct wire transfer system operated by nominated paying Bank. Hence you would be required to send in your complete Banking information, i.e.

Account Name:
Account No.:
Bank Name
Bank Address:
Swift code:
IBan (If Applicable):
MIR (If Applicable):
IFS Code (If Applicable):

I expect an email from you immediately making a selection from the two options above. Also call me and inform me so as to hasten up your claim process. Call within 7:00 hrs GMT- 22:00 hrs GMT.

Congratulations again from all our staffs and thank you for being part of our Promotional programme.

Sincerely Yours,

Dr. Cibor Jeronim
Director of Operations

Tel: +44 703 195 6670
Fax:+44 870 495 6313
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After 10 years of establishment, Google Inc is worth over 23 Billion US Dollars with over 20,000 workers worldwide making it the best and most successful online search engine around the globe. Keep your Award information confidentail.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam