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:

• 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!
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
• 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.
  • peter_smith@swissmail.net
  • brpeter_smith01@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: "Ms. Stella Williams" <stellawilliams002@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: stellawilliam@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 02:05:57 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS.

THE DIRECTOR EUROPEAN PRIZE AWARD DEPT OF MARINEOS U.K LOTTO PROMOTIONS
EUROPE {26 Whitefield Street London WIT2SE Tottenham Court Road}
REF:EL3/9318/04 BATCH:8/163/EL.

Attn:Winner,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners
International programs held on the 20/01/2005. Your e-mail address attached
to ticket number :EL-23133 with serial number: EL-123542,batch
number:EL-35,lottery ref number:EL-9318 and drew lucky numbers 7-1-8-36-
4-22 which consequently won in the 3rd category, you have therefore been
approved for a lump sum pay out of US$3,500,000.00(Three Million,Five
Hundred Thousand United States dollars)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning
information confidential until your claims has been processed and your money
Remitted to you.
This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and
unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants. All participants
were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 40,000
company and
20,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all
over the world.

This promotional program takes place every year. This lottery was Promoted
and Sponsored by a group of successful Electronic Dealers for this New 2005
worldwide.we hope with part of your winning,you will take part in our next
year US$20million international lottery.

To file for your claim,Please contact our Company Attorney:
PETER SMITH ESQ (ATTORNEY)through this his Petrsonal Email:
peter_smith@swissmail.net or brpeter_smith01@yahoo.com} for him to process
the necessary documents that will necessitate the immediate release of this
winning amount to your bank account accordingly.

Remember, All winning must be claimed not later than 2th Of
November,2005.After this date allunclaimedfunds will be included in the next
stake.
Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications please
remember to quote your Reference Number and Batch numbers in all
Correspondence.

Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as
soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being
part of our promotional program.
Note:
Anybody under the age of 18 is not Eligible to participate in this lotto.


Yours Faithfully,
MS. STELLA WILLIAMS

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam