419 scam: <simon_promotion@virgilio.it> CONTACT YOUR AGENT!!! MR. HARRY SMITHincere co-operation.IFICATIONPŒë¸"

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

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.

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:
- "million united states dollars" (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)
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.
- +31619030566 (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.
- payagencies@netscape.net (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: <simon_promotion@virgilio.it>
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 18:42:04 +0100 (GMT+01:00)
Subject: CONTACT YOUR AGENT!!! MR. HARRY SMITH

CONTACT YOUR AGENT!!! MR. HARRY SMITH

LUCKYDAY LOTTO PROMOTION
INTERNATIONAL
DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION
AWARDS DEPARTMENT
Ref. Number: 132/756/4534
Batch number: 638901527-
AMB/02

Sir/ Madam,
We are pleased to inform you of the lottery result
winners
International programmes held on 16th December 2005. Your e-
mail
address was attached to ticket number 278511465896-6452 with
your
serial number 3772-554 drew you a lucky number 3-14-18-23-31-45
which consequently won in the first category, you are therefore been
approved for lump sum pay out of US$1,000,000 (One million United
states Dollars) CONGRATULATIONS ! ! !

Due to mix up of some numbers
and names, you are advised to keep your winning information
confidential until your claims has been processed and your money
remitted to your nominated bank. This is part of our security protocol
to avoid double claims and unwarranted abuse of this programme by some
participants. All participants were selected through an e-mail
balloting system. drawn from over 40,000 company and 20,000,000
individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This
promotional programme takes place every three years. This lottery was
promoted and sponsored by Association of software producers. we hope
with part of your winning, you will take part in our next year US$20
million international lottery. To process your lottery claims, please
contact our agent below that have been appointed for the processing of
your claims with your contact telephone and fax number:

Mr. HARRY
SMITH
Tel: 0031 619-030-566
E-mail address: payagencies@netscape.net

Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than 24th December
2005. Please note, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and
complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch number
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.

Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Emily Simon
Lottery
coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam