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:

• 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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "foreign service manager" (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.
  • +34650225822 (Spain, 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.
  • jmagent2000@yahoo.es (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "MARIA CARLOS" <elgordogoza@yahoo.es> (may be fake)
Reply-To: jmagent2000@yahoo.es
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:40:47 +0100
Subject: AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION

ELGORDO SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY COMPANY S.L,
C/ VILLAFONTANA 1,Nº 38-43,MORATALAD.28056.
MADRID-ESPAÑA
20TH MARCH, 2006.
FROM THE DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT .
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
REF NO: EGS/2551256003/05
BATCH NO:14/0017/IPD
ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY/WINNER
RE:AWARD NOTIFICATION,FINAL NOTICE.
WE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU OF THE RESULTS OF ELGORDO SPANISH SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY/ INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM HELD ON THE 28TH OF FEBUARY, 2006.
YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS ATTACHED to ticket number 025-11464992-750 with serial number 2113-05 drew the lucky numbers 12-22-39-40-44-48 which consequently won the lottery in 1st category.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of US$782, 222 15c (SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-TWO THOUSAND,TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO US DOLLARS, FIFTEEN CENTS ONLY) in cash credited to file REF NO;EGS/2551256003/06.This is from a total cash of US$80,368,770.00 (EIGHTY MILLION THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT THOUSAND,SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY US DOLLARS ONLY) shared among the international winners in this category.
Congratulations!!!!
Your fund is now deposited with a security/Finance company to a local bank and insured to the owner of the e-mail address.
Due to the mixed up of some numbers and e-mail addresses that were compiled by the marketing department ,we ask that you keep this award from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to your nominated account as this is a part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unwarranted taking advantage of this program by participants.
All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 125,000 e-mail addresses from Africa,Asia,Australia,MiddleEast,Newzealand,Europe and Noth America as part of our international promotions program which we conduct once every year.
To commence your lottery winning claim, you are invited to come to Madrid with a photocopy of your international passport for identification OR if you cannot be able to come to Madrid, please contact your claims agent:
MR JOSE MARTINEZ
FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER,
ELGORDO LOTTERY BOARD
TEL: +34 650 225 822
E-MAIL: jmagent2000@yahoo.es <mailto:jmagent2000@yahoo.es>
for processing and remmitance of your prize money to a designated account of your choice.
Remmenber,all prize money must be claimed not later than 15TH APRIL,2006.After this date all funds will be returned to the MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIA Y HACIENDA as unclaimed.
NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications,please remmenber to quote your reference and batch numbers in every correspondence with us or your agent.
Furthermore,should there be any change of your address,do inform your claims agent as soon as possible.
Remember that you have to pay your claims agent 10% of your fund after the money gets to you for entering your e-mail address for the program
YOU ARE ask to send the following informations to your claims agent immediately,
(1) Your full names and address
(2) Telephone, Mobile phone and Fax Numbers.
(3) Reference and Batch Numbers
Please ensure that you send mail to your claims agent,Mr. Jose Martinez for the confirmation of your winning .
Congratulations once again from all the members of our staffs and thank you for being part of our promotional program.Please ensure that you give your time to this winning claims to enable the marketing department get their percentage for the highstakes entries.
Sincerely,
Mrs Maria Carlos
Secretary, Elgordo Sweepstake Lottery Company S.L,
Madrid, Spain.
FOR: THE MANAGEMENT.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam