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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "clearance document" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • ",000,000" (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)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "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.
  • +447031924126 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: City Trust Bank Plc <info.citytrustbankplc@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:09:02 +0100 (BST)
Subject: City Trust Bank Plc (Transferring Option)





Tel: +44-703-192-4126
Tel: +44-701-115-1300
Fax: +44-709-288-2090

Attention: Lothar Zweig,

You are welcome to City Trust Bank Plc an affiliate of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY. We are pleased to be at your service. City Trust Bank Plc is Regulated and Stipulated by the Financial Service Authority (FSA), the financial institutions that Govern all Financial activities in the United Kingdom.

Please be informed that you have been approved by the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY to receive the amount of £1,000,000.00 (One Million Pounds Sterling) which you have won, so you are to choose from the following options which you will like to use in receiving your winning fund. You are to choose your preferred and affordable choice from the three options below.

Option (1)

Bank To Bank Transfer: This is the Direct Bank Transfer that will enable you receive the sum of money in any account that you will provide to this Bank to effect the transfer and it will take Two to Three business days for the fund to reflect in the account that you will provide.

Cost of transfer:..........£380
Vat:.................£180
Insurance:..............£260

Total:.................£820 Pounds.

Option (2)

Bank Account Opening: If you don't have a bank account, you will have to open a new bank account here and it will be registered for International Transfer, and you can make Transfer Online as it will take 24hours to get the account done.

NOTE: PREMIUM ACCOUNT

Account Opening:..........£90
Vat:..............£150
Non UK Residential Permit:.......£260
Insurance:................£240

Total:..............£740 Pounds.

Option (3)

Cheque Transfer Options: You can receive a Certified Bank Cheque issue in your name and approved Clearance Documents, it will take Two working days which is 48hours for the cheque to be delivered to you, and we will have to use the FedEx Courier Service to deliver the parcel to your home address.


FedEx

Mailing:...........£180.00
Insurance:...........£230.00
Vat:...........£150.00

Total:...........£560 Pounds.

Note: that your funds are protected by a hardcover insurance policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before it can be remitted to you. This means that the stipulated above charges cannot be deducted from the funds and hence must be provided by you before your funds is transferred to you.

Please respond to this email by making a selection from the three options above. Also attach a scanned copy of either your driver's license, international passport (photo page) or any other legally identifying document.

Send your response to indicate your option within the next 24hrs, because you only have seven 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 re-used in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery.

Deep Regards
Mr. Frank Ban
Account Officer/Logistic
@CITY TRUST BANK PLC.
Head Office & Accounts
25 Gresham Street London,
EC2V 7HN United Kingdom

City Trust Bank Plc the world reliable bank.



---------------------------------
Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your freeaccount today.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam