joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
 Free trial for 30 days
   jwSpamSpy
Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "Global Email Lottery" <gelawards@msn.com>
Date: Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:20:28 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!!LOTTERY WINNER

FROM: GLOBAL EMAIL LOTTERY
BV. 41B EDGE WARE ROAD LONDON
UNITED KINGDOM

ATTENTION: LOTTERY WINNER!!!

REF NUMBER: SYR/200010-1-2II
BATCH NUMBER: GEL-O703-65001

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners
International programs held on the 2nd of November, 2005. Your e-mail
address attached to ticket number 7759248 with serial number 700 drew lucky
numbers 23-13-12-22-11-32 which consequently won in the 2nd category, you
have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of $2,500,000 (TWO
MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLARS).

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

For security purpose and clarity, we advise that you keep your winning
information confidential until your claims have 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 20,000 companies and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names
from all over the world. The program takes place every year.This lottery was
promoted and sponsored by eminent personalities like the Sultan of
Brunei,His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. We look forward to your active
participation in our next year $50 million slot.

To enable us forward to you your PAYMENT PROCESSING FORM for the processing
of your payment, please call Steve Moore, Head of Clearance Department on
Tel: +4470301913118 to clarify your winnings or send an email to :

GLOBAL EMAIL LOTTERY
BV. 41B EDGE WARE ROAD LONDON-UNITED KINGDOM
EMAIL: stevemoore@gelworld.org

Note that, all winnings must be claimed not later than FOURTEEN DAYS FROM
THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE. After this date all unclaimed funds will be null
and void. Please also have in mind that in order to avoid unnecessary delays
and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers
in all correspondences.

Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.

Sincerely yours,
Helen Ince
(Director)
GLOBAL EMAIL LOTTERY


Anti-fraud resources: