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:
  • "claims 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.
  • +447031850494 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "ads_promo_intern" <ads_promo_intern@terra.com.mx>
Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2006 03:30:05 -0600
Subject: ATTN:DEAR WINNER,YOUR WINNING NOTIFICATION.


FROM:THE DESK OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
INTERNATIONAL/PRIZE AWARD DEPT
REFL2/209318/09
BATCH:18/103/HME.


Attn:Sir/Madam,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners International programs held on the 17/04/2006.Your E-mail address attached to ticket number:653164251591-6011 with serial number : 7321410, batch number: 7151085135,lottery ref.number: 6376527711 and drew lucky numbers: 4-9-17-36-44-78 which consequently won in the 1st category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of $1.500,000.00 (One Million,Five Hundred Thousand United States dollars).

Due to mix up of some numbers and names,we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims has 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 40,000 companies and 20,000,000 individual E-mail addresses and names from all over the world.This promotional program takes place every year.This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Association of Software Producers.We hope with part of your winnings,you will take part in our next year US$20 million international lottery.CONGRATULATION!!!

To file for your claim,please contact your Claims Agent,and do forward to him the required details below:
CLAIMS AGENT:Mr.Shawn Kelly
TELEPHONE :+44 703 1850 494
E-mail :mr_shawnkelly@uk2.net
REQUIRED DETAILS TO BE FORWARDED TO THE CLAIMS AGENT:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.YOUR NAMES IN FULL:
2.DATE OF BIRTH:
3.RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:
4.OFFICE ADDRESS:
5.OCCUPATION:
6.TELEPHONE/FAX No.:
7.SEX :
8.NATIONALITY :
9.A SCAN NED COPY OF ANY LEGAL MATERIAL WITH YOUR PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH ON IT{eg. Either your "DRIVER'S LINCENSE" or "Your National Identity Passport"}:
10.SERIAL NUMBER:
11.BATCH NUMBER :
12.REF.NUMBER:
13.LUCKY NUMBER:
Please note:Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.

Yours Sincerely,
Queensley Rhoda,
For Management.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam