External Id could be Any Number,Email Or Text .. so nothing special with Last Three Digits. If you are asking about Id Structures please go through https://help.salesforce.com/apex/HTViewSolution?urlname=How-do-unique-IDs-work-in-Salesforce-1327108651310&
I beleive that you are talking about salesforce ID when it is 18 disit. http://interviewqa.forcetree.com/2014/03/what-is-difference-between-15-digit-and.html
http://interviewqa.forcetree.com/2014/03/what-is-difference-between-15-digit-and.html