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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "international lottery programme"
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claim 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.
  • info_swisslottopromo2006@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: "joe edward" <joeedward_swisslotto@rediffmail.com>
Date: 17 Oct 2006 23:36:14 -0000
Subject: SWISS LOTTERY COMPANY


SWISS LOTTERY COMPANYRef. Number: SLC/11-20/2006Batch Number: 346745-ILS Dear Sir/Madam,
This is to inform you of the result of the Winners in our International Lottery Programmed held on the 1st of October 2006.Your e-mail address was selected being that you happen to be online during the period set aside for selection in which you emerge in the1st category, you have therefore been approved for a bulge sum pay out of $2,000,000 (Two Million United State Dollars).
CONGRATULATIONS!
All participants were selected through an internet electronic device drawn from over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every five years. This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies both in the United Kingdom,nd other parts of the world.
We hope that with part of your winnings you will contribute in our next year humanitarian international lottery promotion.
To file for your winning prize, please contact our fiduciary agent:
Mr. Joe EdwardReply to:info_swisslottopromo2006@yahoo.com
Remember all winning must be claimed not later than 30th of December 2006. After this date all unclaimed funds will be returned to the capital account of the Lottery Company. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all correspondence. Furthermore should there be any change of e-mail address do inform our fiduciary agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once more from our members of staff and Note: Any winner under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Yours Sincerely,Hope Jane
CoordinatorSwiss Lottery CompanyLondon-United Kingdom
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winner will result to disqualification. Please contact your claim agent with the above email.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam