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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "await your urgent response" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: Stephen Rice <stephen212rice@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:28:40 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: YOUR REFERENCE NUMBER (MICROSOFT PROMOTION)


Dear Ms Albertina Hirschder

I received an email from you and firstly as one of our lucky winners in the mega jackpot promotion i will like to congratulate you personally on your winnings. To your question, i am your claims officer and will be giving you all directives on how you are to go about claiming your winnings.

You are to fill out the claims form which was provided to you in the winning notification letter sent to you as given below:

1. FULL NAMES: _______________
2.NATIONALITY: _______________
3. DATE OF BIRTH _____________
4. SEX: _________________________
5. MARITAL STATUS: ______________
6. CONTACT ADDRESS: ____________
7. TELEPHONE NUMBER: __________
8. OCCUPATION: __________
9. WINNING E-MAIL ADDRESS: _________
10.REF/ BATCH NUMBERS: ____________
11.TOTAL AMOUNT WON: ______________

Once you provide the details above you will be given the next step to follow. You are to ensure you state your reference number to ascertain the validity of your winnings, which is to know if you are the true winner because of the high rate of fraud on the internet we have been experiencing recently. You should be rest assured that once you provide your reference number you are liable for claims.

Once again on behalf of Microsoft Corporation i wish to congratulate you on your winnings. I await your urgent response.

Sincerely,
Stephen Rice
............................
Claims officer
Microsoft Promotion


---------------------------------
The all-new Yahoo! Mail goes wherever you go - free your email address from your Internet provider.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam