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:

• 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: "East-West AustraliaLottery" <EWA@LOTTERY>
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 18:24:49 -0900
Subject:

PRIZE AWARD DEPT. REF No: 9590 ES 9414
BATCH No: 573881545-NL/2007
TICKET No:34090322816
SERIAL No: 43568000/12
[FOR CATEGORY "A" WINNER ONLY]

ATTN: LOTTERY WINNER.

We wish to congratulate you of the result of the East-West
AustraliaLottery (international program) balloting sweepstake held
on the 29th March. 2007. This is a millennium scientific computer
game in which email addresses were used. It is a promotional
program aimed at encouraging internet users,therefore you do
not need to buy ticket to enter for it. You have been approved
for the star prize of €1,000,000.00 (One Million Euros).
To claim your winning prize you are to contact the appointed
agent as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings:
You must contact the PAYING BANK with your
Full Names, Contact Telephone Numbers (Home, Office and Mobile Number
and also Fax Number)and also with your winning informations via email
to process the immediate payment of your prize.The Validity period of
the winnings is for 30 working days hence you are expected to make your
claims immediately, any claim not made before this date will be
returned to the East-West Australia Lottery board.Contact the paying
bank with the following:

Bank’s Name:Bank Name: laagste Bank B.V.
Contact person: John Van Kempering.
President: Private Banking.
Tel: 0031 616 293 431.
Fax: 0031 84 759 9547.
E-mail address: custservices@o2.pl
Congratulations once again.
Yours in service,
Mr. Glady Haris
Lottery Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam