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:
  • "fiduciary 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!

Fraud email example:

From: online claimdepartment <onlineclaimdpt@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:54:49 +0100 (BST)
Subject: LOTTERY WINNER PLEASE FOR YOUR OWN INTEREST,JUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND POLICY OF THE BANK


IDENTIFICATION NUMBER:CPEL/OWN/9876.

Dear Winner,

I am in reciept of your mail one again and Please Know this,You are not the Only Winner in this Edition of Lottery and the Other Three have claim their Winning Prize (Funds) from the Bank and you are still feeling uneasy to follow the instructions and Policy of our Affiliate Bank to Transfer your Funds,well Winners are not FORCED to claim their Winning Prize(Funds),so if you are feeling uneasy,please you can forfeit it.

I have done all i need to do and i have also explain all you need to know,what else do you need,Please and Please,You are not forced to claim your Winning Prize (Funds) from our affiliate Bank,is a Choice Issue,Think about it.

NOTE:Keep me posted if STILL interested in claimming Your winning prize from the Bank for record purpose.

Once again Congratulations.

Best Regards,
Mr Williams Woods
Fiduciary Agent Uk Lottery


---------------------------------
Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Tryit now.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam