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:
  • "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)
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Thames Lottery UK" <info@thameslottery.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: claim@thameslottery.com
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 05:09:40 +0100
Subject: Your July 2005 e-lottery Promo Selection Result

THAMES LOTTERY PROMO (UK) LIMITED
SERIAL NOS:07/05/1881/02085660110
COUPON NOS:MEPROS/7619-01304-2118
Dear Participant,
Re: e-lottery Promotion July 2005 Promo

Europe/America private international e-lottery organizers and co-sponsors, Thames Group International, officially bring to your
notice of the final draw result of the 1St July 2005 e-lottery Promotion which was conducted at our international corporate office complex here The United Kingdom (UK). Most recently this Organization set up the NEW e-LOTTERY SCHEME to give out prizes based on COMPUTER BALLOT SYSTEM. By doing this therefore, you do not need to buy a ticket to enter for it. As the Organisation seek to encourage the use of Internet for academic and business pursuits. It major aim is to promote music,theatre, art,literature, projects in the social and political arena with a focus on health, as well as science, research, and higher education.

Consequently, we wish to congratulate and inform you on the selection of your email coupon numbers which was selected among the 45 lucky prize winners. Your email ID identified with coupon Nos:
MEPROS/7619-01304-2118 with SERIAL NOS:07/05/1881/02085660110 and was selected by our e-Promo Random Selection System (ERSS) with entries from the 50,000 different email addresses world-wide enrolled for the E-Promo. Your email ID was included among the 50,000 different email addresses submitted by our technical partner, international emails provider Inc. Subsequently, you won yourself a cash prize of Two Million United States Dollars (USD$2,000,000.00). And the Payment Board have approved a pay-out of your cash prize which will be remunerated directly to you by the Prize remittance Unit.

The Prize remittance Unit (PRU) will render to you complete assistance and provide additional information and processes for the claims of your prize. This promotion Program is sponsored by a group of corporate establishments, individuals and accredited charitable organizations world-wide. Be informed that a minimum of 10% of your prize MUST
be donated to a remarkable charity organization in your locality.

For due processing of your Cash Prize, please contact your Payment Officer: Mr William Winters who has been assigned to assist you at: william.winters@thameslott.com for more information with your contact Details Immediately. (Full Names, address, telephone and Fax Nos) As all winnings must be process and claimed not later than 29th July 2005. And always remember to quote your coupon and serial Numbers in all your correspondence with your Payment Coordinator for easy identification, so as to avoid unnecessary delays and complications. Once again, congratulations from our management and staffs on your e-selection prize winning.

Best Regards,
Jessica Mills
Information Desk Officer,
THAMES LOTTERY PROMO (UK) LIMITED

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam