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!
• 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.
  • +31622598161 (Netherlands, 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.
  • johnmalinga@netscape.net

Fraud email example:

From: "loveday00@go.com" <loveday00@go.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 10:58:33 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: lucky day lottery winners



FROM THE OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENTLUCKYDAY E-MAIL LOTTERY INTERNATIONALPROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
BACTH NO: PTP/31257/19888REF. NO: LTP/44929/2202.

This is to inform you of the release of the E-MAIL LOTTERY BALLOT INTERNATIONAL/ WORLD GAMING BOARD held on the 12th of October, 2005.
Due to the mix up of number, the results were released on the 17th of October, 2005. Your name attached to ticket number 219028657434 with serial number 18735625 drew thelucky numbers of 21-70-81-82-99 which consequently won the lottery in the 1st category.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of 700.000.00 ( SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND EUROS ONLY ) in cash which is deposited with a PRIME FINANCE COMPANY BV. in your favour as beneficiary and covered with HIGH INSURANCE POLICY. 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 ballotsystem drawn from only Microsoft users from over 20,000.00 companies and 3,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world.
To begin your lottery claim, please contact our agent below that have been appointed for the processing of your claim with your contact telephone and fax number to begin theprocessing of your claim:

PRIME FINANCE COMPANY BV.CONTACT NAME: PHILLION JOHN MALINGATEL: +31 622 598 161.FAX: +31 847 174 439. Email:johnmalinga@netscape.net

Note that all winning must be claimed not later than 28th of November, 2005. After this date all unclaimed funds 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 informour 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 automatically disqualified.
Yours Sincerely,Mrs. Ann Van Dou

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam