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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "foreign service manager" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• 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.
  • patrick_frederick@o2.pl (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: megalottouk1@zipmail.com.br
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 04:39:50 +0100
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?WINNING=20NOTIFICATION=20/=20FINAL=20NOTICE?=

INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS / PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
MEGA BRITISH LOTTO PROMO LOTTERY,
HEADQUARTERS:
10 NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE ,
LONDON WC2N 5BX, THE UNITED KINGDOM .
REF: MGL/45841238044/06
BATCH: 06/47266/IPD
RE- WINNING NOTIFICATION / FINAL NOTICE

Dear Winner
We happily announce to you the draw number 620 of MEGA PROMO LOTTERY, UNITED
KINGDOM /INTERNATIONAL, PROGRAMS which held on the 23th February. 2006.

Your e-mail address is attached to ticket number: 023-0148-790-211, with
lucky numbers 43-11-44-37-10-54, attached to your email address which subsequently
won you the lottery in the 2nd category.
It is our pleasure to inform you that you have emerged as a Category "B"
winner of the MEGA BRITISH LOTTO PROMO LOTTERY. You have therefore been
approved to claim a total sum of Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand America
dollars ($850,000USD) in cash credited to file REF NO.MGL/45841238044/06.This
is from a total cash prize of fourteen Million, Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand-America
Dollars($14,450, 000.00USD), shared amongst the first seventeen- (17) lucky
winners in this category B". Please note that your lucky winning number
falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated
in your play coupon.
In view of this, the Certified Bank Check of your Eight
Hundred and Fifty Thousand America Dollars ($850,000USD) would be released
to you by our security firm in London , or better still ON-LINE WIRE TRANSFER
to your designated Bank Account. U.K. Our European agent will immediately
commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as
you contact him.
As a category "B" winner, all participants for the free online lotto version
were selected from registrations of new email addresses or any purchase
online from any of the participating companies (including Barnes and Nobel,
MSN, Amazon, Yahoo and EBay and other sites) The winning numbers were chosen
by computer using TruRandom selection. Eligible participants were entered
into the drawing from over the world; each of participating companies could
enter up to 1,000 individuals. If you have signed up for an email account
or purchased merchandise online, you may have been entered by any of the
participating companies. This is a monthly promotion to raise awareness
of International British Mega-Lotto. International British Mega-Lotto is
dedicated to global humanitarian efforts with an emphasis on health care
and disease prevention in developing counties. It is funded through direct
contribution by playing the lottery as well as by corporate sponsors.
Winning claimants may choose to donate a portion or their prize to directly
benefit this organization, but it is not required
After the computer ballot of our International Promotions Program, only
first seventeen- (17) lucky winners were emerged in this category and therefore
both are to receive payouts of Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand America
dollars ($850,000USD) from the total cash prize of Fourteen Million, Four
Hundred and Fifty Thousand-America Dollar ($14,450,000.00USD), for second
category winners.
For your security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information
confidential till your claim is processed and your Certified Bank Check
received by you. To file for your claim, your claim is being processes through
the company below please contact
MR. Patrick S. Frederick
FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER.
TRANSWORLD CLEARING SYSTEM
Email: patrick_frederick@o2.pl
However, it should be noted that all won prize must be claimed not later
than 30th April. 2007. Any claim not made before this date will be returned
back to the MEGA BRITISH LOTTO PROMO LOTTERY as unclaimed won prize. NOTE:
In order to avoid unnecessary delays and Complications, please remember
to quote your Reference and batch numbers in your correspondences with your
claim agent. Furthermore, should there be any Change of your address; do
inform above company as soon as possible.
Congratulations again from all our staff and thank you for being part of
our promotional lottery program, and it is our hope that apart of your won
prize, you will participate in our middle of the yearhigh stakes US$25.5
Million International Lottery. Good luck from me and members of
staff of the UK MEGA LOTTO
Sincerely,

GEORGE WILLIAMS
The Promotions Manager.
MEGA BRITISH LOTTO PROMO LOTTERY , UNITED KINGDOM





--

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam