What is this FAQ about?
This collection of frequently asked questions (FAQ) tries to answer questions about the Advance Fee Fraud ("419 scam"). The scam is named after the section of the Nigerian penal code dealing with fraud.
I received an email telling me I won in a lottery. Is this a scam?
Yes. Fake lotteries are the most common type of "419" scam. Consider the following (if after reading the list below you're still not sure, try submitting it to the Scam-O-Matic, our Instant Online Fraud Check or visit the Scamwarners.com forum and ask for help there).
Did you buy a lottery ticket from this company? Did you even hear about them before? If not, it is obviously a fraud. The primary purpose of lotteries is to raise money. Therefore they require people to buy tickets in order to have a chance to win. Lottery companies do not organize "promotional" lotteries, they advertise. A free "promotional" lottery that you only hear about if you win would only promote the lottery to a handful of customers. That doesn't make any sense.
What information can you find about the company? Perform a Google search for the name of the lottery, the "claims agent" or his/her company. Do the top hits mention "fake", "fraud", "scam" or "419" or are there no matches at all? Also search for the "winning numbers" listed in that email. Do you find several "winning notifications" that look a lot like the one you received? How would that be possible if it was a real lottery where numbers change every week?
Here is a search form for you to use: