419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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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:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "into your nominated bank account" (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)
- ",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)
- "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)
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
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.
- +448719968715 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: FROM THE FACEBOOK AWARD LOTTERY PROMOTION UK <Dowe@indosat.net.id>
Reply-To: facebookboard@ovi.com
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 00:13:51 +0700 (WIT)
Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Fw:_UK.YOU_HAVE_WON_THE_SUM_OF?=
=?UTF-8?Q?_GBP=C2=A31,000,000.00_FROM_THE_FAC?=
=?UTF-8?Q?EBOOK_AWARD_LOTTERY_PROMOTION_?=
=?UTF-8?Q?UK_PLS.VIEW_THE_ATTACHED_FILE=E2=80=8F?=

CONGRATULATIONS FROM FACEBOOK LONDON ENGLAND!Facebook the largest Social Networking site valued more than $100 Billion Dollars and also expecting its One Billion Users to come mainly from Mobile devices than desktop Users by 2014, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has decided to boost Users and Companies a WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY by Lottery Program and Initial Public Offer said in a press release.We are pleased to inform you officially of the result of the just concluded annual final draws held on the (22nd of January, 2014) by the Facebook Awards Promotion (UK) in conjunction with the British America Tobacco Promotion, your email was among the 20 Lucky winners who won £1,000,000.00 each.THE FACEBOOK AWARD PROMOTIONHowever the results were released on the 16th August, 2014 and your email was attached to ticket number (TFR/9900034943/JPT) and ballot number (BT:FR/45-300-07) The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses from an exclusive list of (250,000) E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. However, no tickets were sold but all email addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy.The selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world This Lottery is approved by the Facebook Gaming Board England (UK) and also Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).This lottery is the 3rd of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public.For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your prize money remitted into your designated bank. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program,Please be warned.click on the website link below to view the photo page of some of our recent lucky winners.http://www.freelotto.com/winners.asp FreeLotto Winning Draw ResultsIn order to claim your £1,000,000.00 GBP (One Million Great Britain Pounds) only prize winning, which has been deposited in a assigned designated bank been LLOYDS TSB BANK? However, you will have to fill the form below and send it to the Promotion manager of THE FACEBOOK AWARD PROMOTION UK for verification and then you will be directed to the bank for the transfer of £1,000,000.00 GBP in cash into your nominated bank account of your choice in your country,NAME:………………………………. AGE:………………………………….SEX:…………………………………. ADDRESS:………………………….EMAIL:……………………………… PHONE:……………………………..OCCUPATION:……………………. COUNTRY:………………………….Please you are advice to complete the verification form and send it immediately to our Promotion manager through email for prompt collection of your fund from the designated bank.PLEASE VIEW THE ATTACHED FILE FOR FURTHER STEP ON HOW YOU CAN PROCEED AND CLAIM THE PRIZE MONEY URGENTLY.(CONTACT PROMOTION MANAGER)Name: Dr. Mrs. Elizabeth HendersonTel:+44-871 996 8715E MAIL: dept.financengland@ovi.comFacebook Claim AgentSincerely,Facebook Awards ManagementEngland (UK).

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam