joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"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
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "may come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million british pounds" (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)
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +27765618833 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • brunolugard@webmail.co.za (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Microsoft Internet Lottery" <microsoftlotto012@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:07:35 +0200
Subject: CONGRATULATION YOU HAVE WON MICROSOFT LOTTERY


*
MICROSOFT AWARD TEAM*
* **
*
**
*Dear Friend, *
**
**
*This email you have received may come to you as a surprise and will change
your life forever ONLY if you do not ignore it.*
**
*MICROSOFT AWARD TEAM is running an email Beta test promotion and have
randomly selected your email address out of thousands of addresses as one of
our lucky winners. You have won a total sum of £2,000,000 (TWO MILLION
BRITISH POUNDS) and your lucky winning numbers are 887/13/865/37/10/83. *
**
*HOW TO CLAIM YOUR MONEY PRIZE*
**
*The following required information should be supplied and sent immediately
to our Fiduciary Claims Agent in South Africa via telephone or email for the
commencement of your claims: *
**
*FULL NAMES:
CONTACT/RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE/FAX NUMBERS:
AGE:
SEX:
MARITAL STATUS:
OCCUPATION:
NATIONALITY: *
**
*CHOOSE ANY PAYMENT OPTION YOU PREFER FOR THE PAYMENT OF YOUR PRIZE*

*1. BANK TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFER
2. CERTIFIED BANK DRAFT
3. CASHIER CHEQUE

If your preferred payment option is Bank Telegraphic Transfer, then you are
required to fill your bank details below.


BANK NAME: ..........

ACCOUNT NUMBER: ..... *
***
SWIFT CODE: ........

BANK ADDRESS: .......

CITY: ...............

COUNTRY:.............

BANK TELEPHONE:......

FAX:................*
**
*You are to forward all these information to our fiduciary claims agent
through his contact details below. *
**
* AGENT INFORMATION

Agent Name Mr. Bruno Lugard
E-Mail:
brunolugard@webmail.co.za<http://us.mc625.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=brunolugard@webmail.co.za>
Phone: +27765618833
*
**



*Congratulations!! once again.
Yours in service, [image: Feature Pic Caption]
Dr. (Mrs.) CAROL JONES
*
**

**

* *

PAST WINNERS OF OUR PREVIOUS AWARD.
**
* *






*WARNING!*

*NB: DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. CONTACT OUR FIDUCIARY AGENT FOR MORE
INFORMATION AND CLAIMS. *

*Do not tell people about your Prize Award until your money is successfully
handed over to you to avoid disqualification that may arise from double
claim.

You may also receive similar e-mails from people portraying to be other
Organizations or Microsoft Inc. This is solely to collect your personal
information from you and lay claim over your winning. In event that you
receive any e-mail similar to the notification letter that was sent to you,
Kindly delete it from your mail box and give no further correspondence to
such person or body.*
* *
*Microsoft shall not be held responsible for any loss of fund arising from
the above mentioned.*
**

***THIS PROMOTIONAL AWARD IS SPONSORED BY MICROSOFT CORPORATION & BILL
GATES & ASSOCIATES***
*MICROSOFT AWARD TEAM*

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam