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")
  • "fudiciary" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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.
  • aliu_alijunior@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr. ronald smith" <ronald_smiths@yahoo.co.uk> (may be fake)
Reply-To: aliu_alijunior@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 23:13:06 +0000
Subject: winning notification

FROM: DR. RONALD SMITH.
E. A . A. S LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS;
EURO-AFRO ASSIAN SWEEPSTAKE LOTTO LOTERY
AN AFFILLIATE OF FOUNDMONEY INTERNATIONAL
LIVERPOOL,L 70 1NL UNITED KINGDOM (CUSTOMER SERVICE)
REF UK/9420x2/68) BATCH; 074/05zy369.
WINNING NOTIFICATION;
WE HAPPILY ANNOUNCE TO YOU THE DRAW OF THE EURO-AFRO-ASIAN SWEEPSTAKE LOTTO LOTERY INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES HELD ON 15/10/ 2006 IN LIVER POOL; YOUR E_MAIL ADRESS ATTACHED TO TICKET NUMBER: 544743465 L44 WITHSERIAL NUMBER 8635/07 WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY WON YOU THE LOTTO IN THE 3RD CATEGORY . LUCKY NUMBERS ARE 10-30-3246-52-64(BONUS NO ). YOU HAVE THEREFORE BEEN APPROVED TO CLAIM A TOTAL SUM OF DOLLARS 1,000,000.00(ONE MILLION DOLLARS )IN CASH. THIS IS FROM THE TOTAL CASH PRICE OF DOLLARS 200,000.00 SHARED AMONG THE TWO HUNDRED( 200) LUCKY WINNERS IN THIS CATEGORY.
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR LUCKY WINNING NUMBER FALLS WITHIN OUR AFRICA BOOKLET REPRESENTATIVE IN TUNISIA, AS INDICATED IN YOUR PLAY COUPON . IN VIEW OF THIS, YOUR 1,000,000.00(ONE MILLION DOLLARS) CHEQUE WOULD BE RELEASED TO YOU BY OUR FUDICIARY AGENT WILL IMMEDIATELY COMMENCE THE PROCESS TO FACILITATE THE RELEASED OF YOUR MONEY AS SOON AS YOU CONTACT HIM,
ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE SELECTED RANDOMLY FROM WORLD WIDE WEBSITES AND GUESTBOOKS THROUGH COMPUTER DRAW SYSTEM AND EXTACTED FROM OVER 100,000 INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES .THIS PROMOTION TAKE PLACE ANNUALLY AND IT IS SPONSORED BY (SULTAN OF BRUNEI) BILL GATES OF MICROSOFT AND HIS ASSOCIATES TO ENCOURAGE THE USE OF INTERNATE AND COMPUTERS WORLD WIDE, FOR SECURITY REASONS YOU ARE ADVISED TO KEEP YOUR WINNING INFORMATIONS CONFIDENTIAL TILL YOUR CLAIMS IS PROCESSED AND YOUR MONEY DELIVERED TO YOUR NOMINATED ADRESS,
THIS IS THE PART OF YOUR PRECAUTIONARY MEARSURE TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMING AND UNWARRANTED ABUSE OF THIS PROGRAM BY SOME UNSCRUPULOUS ELEMENTS, PLEASE BE WARNED.
TO FILE FOR YOUR CLAIM, CONTACT YOUR AGENT: MR. ALIU HASSAN
EMAIL: aliu_alijunior@yahoo.co.uk <http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/ym/Compose?To=aliu_alijunior@yahoo.co.uk> AVOID UNNECESSARY DELAY AND COMPLICATIONS , YOU ARE TO CONTACT MR. ALIU HASSAN WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIONS BELLOW:
YOUR FULL NAMES/ CONTACT ADRESS/ AGE PRIVATE TELEPHONE/ FAX NUMBER AND YOUR OCCUPATION,
QUOTE YOUR TICKET NUMBER IN ANY CORRESPONDENCES WITH US OR OUR DESIGNATED AGENT.
A SCAN COPY OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR DRIVING LICENCE.
WINNERS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED
CONGRATULATIONS ONCE MORE FROM ALL THE MEMBERS AND STAFF OF THIS PROGRAM.
THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THIS PROMOTIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAM.OUR THANKS AND GRATITUDE TO (SULTAN OF BRUNEI, BILL GATES OF MICROSOFT AND ALL HIS ASSOCIATES.
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL, CONTACT YOUR FIDUCIARY AGENT DIRECTLY.
SINCERELY,
DR. RONALD SMITH

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam