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")
  • "courier company" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Riccardo Motta" <mrriccardomotta@yahoo.it>
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 14:48:04 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: OFFICIAL CLAIMS PROCESSING!!!


Dear Ms Albertina Hirschder,

I am Mr. Riccardo Motta the fiduciary agent assigned to your Claims. I wish to congratulate you for being one of the lucky winners of this year ITALIAN SUPERENALOTTO. Count yourself a lucky person. I am glad to inform you that in receipt of your mail and the provided required details, your winning certificate and cheque of €1,500,000,00 will be ready for disbursement in exactly Three (3) days time. In this regard, you will be expected to choose between the under listed options on how you wish to receive your funds.

Note: Your funds with us are not in liquid form but in Bank Cheque, this advice complies with the Anti-Fraud section 2,sub secti on (iv) of the procedural manual of the funds disbursement agreement existing between courier companies and the Italian Government.

These options are as follows:

1.BANK WIRE TRANSFER.
This is a BANK TO BANK TRANSFER.
2.COURIER DELIVERY.
You have to employ the services of our affiliate courier company to send the cheque to you.

In consonance with our policy in this regard, be advised that if you opt for the cheque to be couriered to you, the Lottery Board exempts itself from all liability related to this service. The cost of this service would be borne by you; this is a prerequisite for this option. You will be referred to our affiliate courier company so that you can make enquirers concerning modalities, and charges.

The reason for the courier option is for the fact of taxation, that is if you are to come over to sign for the release of your winnings personally, you would have to pay taxes on the winnings in Italy before the funds get to you. This is the main reason why we would advise that you take the courier option, you have not collected the winnings until you sign for it and the only way you can sign for it via courier is when you have taken delivery of the parcel containing the winnings cheque and certificate of winning.

We expect that you will notify us of your choice upon receipt of this message so that appropriate arrangement can be put in place.

NOTE: The required details must be sent down in your next mail to facilitate the processing of your winning.

Sincerely,
Mr. Riccardo Motta







---------------------------------

---------------------------------
L'email della prossima generazione? Puoi averla con la nuova Yahoo! Mail

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam