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:
  • "your urgent reply" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "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. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447045714663 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • deliveryofficer@excite.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Delievery Department" <deliveryofficer@excite.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:55:10 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Scarlet Couriers CPEL/OWN/00147




Scarlet Courier LTD.28 TANFIELD ROAD, CROYDON.LONDON .TELEPHONE+447045714663Email:deliveryofficer@excite.com

Dear , WINNER
This notice sent to you is to inform you that the verifications department at the Headquarters of the HEINEKEN® NATIONAL LOTTERY has officially cleared and confirmed you for payment and this confirmation has been forwarded to us to handle the delivery of your lottery parcel containing your winning cheque sum of £250.000 Pounds including your National Certificate of Approval.With Regards to your parcel which was received from the Heineken National Lottery with identification number CPEL/OWN/00147 Description of parcel to be delivered:
Description Of Parcel to be delivered Weight of parcel ..............................0.18kg Color of parcel ....................................Brown Lenght of Days ......................................Pending on your choice of delivery I am Sending you all necessary document backing your wins but you will have to satisfy our courier charges via our upfront options. you can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you. With regards to this, There are four options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the Four option.you are to make the your prefered and affordable choice in these.The options, together with their associated conditions are presented below: Courier of your winning draft to you via any of this channel listed below:
SCARLET COURIER DELIVERY OPTION
Please find below our charges:__________________________Normal class delivery: 7 days__________________________(cost of delivery)




Mailing

£100.00

00.00


Insurance

£100.00

00.00


Vat

£198.95

00.00


TOTAL

£398.95

00.00
TOTAL £398.95 = 780.190 USD____________________________Premium class delivery: 5 days____________________________( cost of delivery)




Mailing &amp;n bsp

£200.00

00.00


Insurance

£100.00

00.00


Vat

£198.95

00.00


TOTAL

£498.95

00.00
TOTAL £498.95 = 975.750 USD
___________________________First class delivery: 2 days
__________________________(cost of delivery)




Mailing

£300.00

00.00


Insurance

£100.00

00.00


Vat

£198.95

00.00


TOTAL

£598.95

00.00
TOTAL £598.95 = 1,171.31 USD Note:The charges cannot be Deducted from your winnings.This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the National Gambling Act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the constitutional assembly.This is to protect winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds and win Situations.Please respond to this email by making a selection from the FOUR options above. Also attach a scanned copy of either your driver's licence, international passport (photo page) or any other legally identifying document.
Note that your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance policy from GEOTRUST INSURANCE COMPANY, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before it has been remitted to you. This means that the above charges cannot be deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your parcel is delivered.
Send your response to indicate your option within the next 48hrs,because you only have 10 working days to claim this cheque and after this period, your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be reused in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery.
You are expected to send your response to this email within the next 24 Hrs In other for you to get your prize.
Your urgent reply will be most welcomeOnce again, Congratulations. Treat with dispatch.
Sincerely.Mr.Alvin Pedro
DISPATCH OFFICER

_______________________________________________
Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
The most personalized portal on the Web!

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam