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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
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• 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:
  • "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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
  • "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "federal high court" (This court is often mentioned in '419' scams to give the victim a reason why he/she should send thousands of dollars to the scammers. A 'Federal High Court' exists in Germany and Nigeria, but not in other countries, such as the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Senegal, Benin, South Africa or other countries where fake lawyers in scams often claim to be based. )
  • "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. )
  • "certified bank draft" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: YAHOO! BETA LOTTERY INC <beta044@msn.com>
Reply-To: <ben.simo@live.fr>
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 2009 03:31:16 +0000
Subject: =?Windows-1252?Q?CONGRATULA?= =?Windows-1252?Q?TION!!_YOU?=
=?Windows-1252?Q?_HAVE_WON_?= =?Windows-1252?Q?(=804=2C50=2C000?=
=?Windows-1252?Q?.00)?=



CONGRATULATION!! YOU HAVE WON (€4,50,000.00)

























This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND EUROS (€4,50,000.00) for the YEAR 2009 Lottery promotion which is organized by YAHOO! BETA LOTTERY INC. for the introduction of the new YAHOO BETA MAIL which all YAHOO! users are required to switch onto. YAHOO! & MICROSOFT WINDOWS, arrange and gather all the e-mail addresses of the people that are active online around the world, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo! and hotmail, and other Company's E-mails ID,
we only select NINE (9) candidates per annually as our winners through Electronic Balloting System (EBS) without the candidate applying, we congratulate you for being one of the people selected.

PAYMENT OF PRIZE CLAIM

Your Payment Approval File will be submitted to the Payment Department cleared and paid simultaneously there. You are to contact our Agent on or before your date of Claim. Yahoo! Beta Lottery Prize must be claimed not later than 14 days from date of Draw Notification after the Draw date in which Prize has won.
Note: Any prize not claimed within this period (14 days) will be forfeited.


These are your identification numbers:

Batch number.....................YBM-EBS-390AF
Reff number...........................YBM-EBS-719AF
Winning number...............YBM-EBS-798AF


You are requested to contact him and send your Identification Numbers and Personal Information to him;Dr.BEN SIMO at his Current email:
E-mail : ben.simo@live.fr



You are therefore advised to send the following information to him to facilitate them and process the transfer of your fund with the appointed paying bank.

Send your Identification Numbers/Your Personal Information to him immediately:


Personal Information
1. Full name.....................
2. Country.......................
3. Contact Address...........
4. Telephone Number..........
5. Marital Status..............
6. Occupation.....................
7. Age.........................
8. Sex............................
9Means For Transfer Or Payment.
1 International Certified Bank Draft.
2 Account Transfer.
If Account Transfer write the name of bank and your account No.
Name of Bank...........................
Account No..............................
Signature........................
Date...........................
Congratulations once again.
Yours in service,






We hope you're enjoying your new Yahoo! Mail account .
Now take the next step and claim your money and say thanks to Yahoo!
You select how to transfer the prize money to you:




Cheque Delivery To Your Address


Bank Account Transfer


Diplomatic Means
NOTE: NOBODY WILL TOUCH YOUR MONEY FOR ANY REASON AND AN AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BANK BY THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT BEFORE THE BANK CAN RELEASE YOUR MONEY.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam