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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • +447024067506 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Queen Owolabi" <owolabi@segunbanker.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:33:01 +0000
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION("954")

The National Lottery Logo
UK-LOTTO Headquarters:
The Marina Offices,
St Peters Yacht Basin,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1HX
England
Customer Service
Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369

WINNING NOTIFICATION
We happily announce to you the draw of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY, online
Sweepstakes International program held on 15th of Jan, 2006 in LIVERPOOL
UNITED-KINGDOM.
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545 188 with Serial
number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: 04.10.14.21.32.49 [44] Bonus Ball
which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category.
You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £250,000(Two
hundred and fifty thousand great britain pounds) in cash credited to file
ktu/9023118308/03.This is from a total cash prize of £1,000,000,00 GBP,
shared amongst the first (4) lucky winners in this category.
All participants for the online version were selected randomly from
World Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from over
100,000
unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online. This
promotion takes place annually.
Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet
representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon.
In view of this, your 25.000.00(GBP) will be released to you by any of
our payment offices in Europe. Our European agent will immediately commence
the
process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him.
For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information
confidential till your claim is processed and your money has been remitted
to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim
your prize.
This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and
unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned.
To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent:
Mr. TOM HUGHES
TEL:+447024067506
Email: tom-khuges@uk2.net
with your claims verification information:
FULL NAMES OF BENEFICIARY:........................
CONTACT ADDRESS:..................................
CITY/STATE:.......................................
COUNTRY:..........................................
NATIONALITY:......................................
SEX…………………....AGE:...................
TEL NO:...........................................
AMOUNT WON:.......................................
REFENCE NO:................BATCH NO:..............
LUCKY NO:..................TICKET NO..............
SERIAL NO:.................LOTTERY DATE:..........
Congratulations once again from all members and staffs of this program.
Thank you for being part of our promotional lottery programs.

Sincerely,
MRS QUEEN T. OWOLABI
Online coordinator for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
Sweepstakes International Program

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam