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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +27731590019 (South Africa, 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.
  • officeofmanager-suncity@webmail.co.za
  • rodneycooper-co.za@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Ms Anne Colsweat" <anne-colsweat_swiss@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 13:26:33 +0200
Subject: CONGRATULATION YOU WON $1M USD /ONLINE LOTTO BONANZA!!!

YOU WON $1M USD /ONLINELOTTO BONANZA SWISS LOTTERY ONLINE GAMING
CORPORATION.

Our Dear Winner,

You won the sum of $1.M, (One Million United States Dollars) from the Swiss
Lottery and Gaming Corporation by the Swiss online lotto bonanza with the
American Microsoft Companies\CEO’S for all Internet Email Users
worldwide).The winning ticket was selected from a Data Base of Internet
Email Users, from which your Email Address came out as the winning coupon.

We hereby contact you to claim the winning amount quickly as this is a
monthly lottery. Failure to claim your win will result into the reversion of
the fund to our following month lottery.

You are therefore requested to contact immediately our Claims Department
below quoting your winning number: ROL-05215796.
To begin your claim, please call your claim agent:

Name: MR. RODNEY COOPER.
Tel: +27-73-159-0019.
Email: officeofmanager-suncity@webmail.co.za,
rodneycooper-co.za@hotmail.com)
Johannesburg Regional Office:
123 Rivonia Road, morningside, Sandton Jhb
South Africa.

Provide the following informations needed to process your winning claim.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Full Name...................................
Age: ..................................
Sex: ...................................
Residential address: ...................
Nationality: ............................
Occupation: .............................
Post held: ..............................
Tel(s): ..................................
Fax: .....................................
Company name: ............................

Once again Congratulation.

Regards.

Mrs. Anne Colsweat.

(General Coordinator).

_________________________________________________________________
Customise your home page with RSS feeds - visit MSN SA today!
http://za.msn.com/

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam