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:
  • "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.
  • hlcorrespondence@sify.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: info@heritage.lottery.co.uk <claimsunit_heritagefundsoffice@walla.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:55:50 -0700
Subject: <>Dear Heritage Fund<> Winner<>


HERITAGE LOTTERY FUNDS PROMOTIONS
7 Holbein Place, London, SW1W 8NR
United Kingdom
FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
REF: HLF/66-CAW662006

Dear Winner,

We are pleased to announce you as one of the 6 lucky winners in the HERITAGE LOTTERY FUNDS draw held on the 4th of October,2006. All 6 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 40,000 international emails.Your email address emerged alongside 5 others as a 3rd category winner in this month's draw. Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of £1,600,000 Pounds( one million six hundred thousand pounds)only. The following particulars are attached to your lottery payment order:
(i) Winning numbers: 35, 19, 20, 31, 18, 41
(ii) Email ticket number: 205-0-4051
(iii) Lottery batch number: 311-4GD
(iv) File Ref. number: HLF/66-CAW662006
Please contact the underlisted claims officer as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings:

Mr Kelvin Scott,
7 Holbein Place, London,
SW1W 8NR United Kingdom

Email:hlcorrespondence@sify.com


For a speedy processing of your claims, please include the following information in your mail to your claims officer, the enclosed form therein been the claims application form:
Payment And Release Order Form
This Form Should Be Completed By The Beneficiary Of The Stated Fund, For Verification Before Transfer.
1. Name in full
2. Address
3. Nationality
4. Age
5. Occupation
6. Sex
7. Phone/Fax
8. Amount Won
Once again on behalf of all our staff,
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Sincerely,
MRS HELEN PALMER
THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,
HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND
N.B:
1. All claims are nullified after 20 working days from today.
2. Your Ref number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.
3. Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.
4. Please do not reply to this email. Contact your claims agent.
_______________________________________________________________________
The INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT, UK. is proudly sponsored by financial Corp's,the Euro American group and a conglomeration of other international IT companies. and is organized to encourage the use of the internet and computers worldwide. We are proud to say that over 100 Million Pounds are won annually in more than 150 countries worldwide.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam