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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Claims Department" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <claims@win.ukmegamillionsdc.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:54:10 +0200
Subject: FINAL NOTICE

U.K. Mega Millions Lottery
Washington D.C Liaison Office
8th Street NW, Washington, DC 20535
Email: info@win.ukmegamillionsdc.com

{FINAL NOTICE} Your $1,000,000.00 Lottery Claim Has Been Filed {FINAL NOTICE}

This is to notify you that your $1,000,000.00 Lottery Winning you filed claims for this year is about to expire. This is the last and final notice to complete the claims process. Your file is pending until you pay the one-time fully refundable processing fee. As soon as we receive this payment, approval will be granted on your file within an hour and you will be contacted by the paying bank with your account information credited with your lottery winnings alongside a full refund of the claims processing fee. Once you are in contact with the bank, you can transfer your lottery winnings to another bank account, request an ATM Card or Check be delivered to your home. You will be given directions on how to do all of these.

Note that if you don't have a bank account you can make the transfer out to a spouse or siblings account you might have access to or better still request a check book or an ATM Card from the bank. Now you are advised to go ahead and pay the processing fee of $500.00 via Western Union to the following cashier in other to approve your winnings:

Receiver's Name: Joe Kenneth
Receiver's Location (City, State): Silver Spring , MD
Amount: $500.00 (Five Hundred USD)
Test Question & Answer: Color & Black

Important: Once you have made the payment you must validate it by e-mailing us the MTCN number on the Western Union receipt, until then your payment will be null. You will be faxed or emailed payment receipts after validation (for your records).

E-mail claims@win.ukmegamillionsdc.com with any questions you may have or if you need clarification.

Under normal circumstances you are not supposed to make a payment for a lottery you won but due to the fact that this lottery is an international lottery from the United Kingdom (in compensation to scam-fraud victims), there is a no tax policy on the funds, which means the processing fee cannot be deducted from your winnings and our headquarters will reimburse you fully for this fee.

To verify your claim with the bank, call them at 800-869-5076 and enter your account information to retrieve your current balance. Your Account Number is: 290876540 and your Three-Digit Phone PIN is: 846. To check your balance you will be asked to enter the last three digits of your account number and your PIN, it will be 540846.

Your winning numbers were: 04, 08, 25, 46, 51 Mega Ball = 24 (Go to our website to verify your winning numbers http://megamillioneuk.com/usa/log/numbers/numbers.html )

A copy of your Certificate of Award will be emailed/faxed to you upon your request or after validation.

Happy Holidays to you and yours,

Renee Anne Walker
Claims Processing Manager
Email: claims@win.ukmegamillionsdc.com (24/7 assistance is available)

*Be sure to have read this email in detail and act accordingly, email your agent if you have questions*

CC: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Anti-fraud resources: