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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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 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.
  • britishinternational_winnings@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY <britishclaimsagent_crester@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 01:16:27 -0400
Subject: ATTN:FINAL WINNING NOTIFICATION ( CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A WINNER)

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY HEADQUARTER:
Customer Service
28 TANFIELD ROAD,
CROYDON.LONDON
Ref: BTL/491OXI/04
Batch: 12/25/0304

DEAR LUCKY WINNER

FINAL WINNING NOTIFICATION

We happily announce to you the draw of the British
Lottery International programs held on the 2nd of
june 2006 in London. Your e-mail address attached
to ticket number: 564 75600545-188 with serial number
5388/02 drew the lucky numbers: 31-6-26-13-35-7,which
subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category.
You have therefore been approved to claim a total
sum of US$1,500,000.00 (One million, five hundred thousand,
United States Dollars) in cash credited to file
RPC/9080118308/04 made available from a total cash prize
of US $120 Million dollars, shared amongst the first Fifty
(8) lucky winners in this category.

All participants were selected randomly from world
wide web sites through a computer drawn system and
extracted from over 100,000 companies. This promotion
takes place annually.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls
within our booklet representative office in Europe as
indicated in our play coupon. In view of this, your
US$1,500,000.00 (One million, five hundred
thousand, United States Dollars) would be released to
you by our affiliate bank in London as soon as you
establish contact.

Please be warned. To file for your claim, contact our
fiduciary agent with the below details;

AGENT:Mr. NICK WATT
Email:britishinternational_winnings@yahoo.com

You are to provide the claims agent with the under listed
information as soon as possible:

1.FULL NAMES:..............................
2.DATE OF BIRTH:...........................
3.SEX:.....................................
4.MARITAL STATUS:..........................
5.CONTACT ADDRESS:.........................
6.COUNTRY:.................................
7.TELEPHONE NUMBER:........................
8.OCCUPATION:..............................
9.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY/INDIVIDUAL:........
10.WINNING E-MAIL ADDRESS:.................
11.WINNING NUMBER:.........................
12.REF NUMBER:.............................
13.BATCH NUMBER:...........................
14.AMOUNT WON:.............................
15.HOW DO YOU FEEL AS A WINNER:..............

To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, quote your
reference/batch numbers in any correspondences with us or
our designated agent. Congratulations once more.
Faithfully,

Mr. JOHN WALTERS.
Zone Co-ordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam