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:
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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)
• 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.
  • +447045765925 (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.
  • michowens1000@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Michell Owens <michowens@excite.com>
Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:40:43 +0100
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION!!!!!!!(COCA COLA)

 
FROM: THE DESK OF THE E-MAIL PROMOTIONS MANAGER INTERNATIONAL
 PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT, Coca-Cola HBC.61-70 Southampton
 Row,Bloomsbury London United Kingdom WC1B 4AR.
                                                 
REFERENCE NO: MSW-L/200-26937
BATCH NO: 2007/OCT.TL#22
WINNER NO: 5
ELECTRONIC EMAIL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION AWARD PRESENTATION CENTER:
UNITED KINGDOM

DEAR WINNER,

Coca-Cola HBC MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU
ARE A WINNER OF OUR ANNUAL Coca-Cola HBC-WORLD LOTTO LOTTERY CONDUCTED
IN UK BEING THE HOST OF THE EVENT FOR THIS PRESENT YEAR MEGA JACKPOT
LOTTO WINNING PROGRAMS HELD ON  20TH, JUNE 2007.
YOUR PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESS OR COMPANY EMAIL WAS ATTACHED TO JUNE
Coca-Cola HBC LL. WITH SERIAL NUMBER S/N-00168 DREW THE LUCKY NUMBERS
887-13-865-37-10-83, AND CONSEQUENTLY WON IN THE FIRST LOTTERY
CATEGORY.
YOU HAVE THEREFORE BEEN APPROVED FOR LUMP SUMS OF $US500,000 (USD FIVE
HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS) PAYABLE IN CASH CREDITED TO FILE REF NO:
Coca-Cola HBC-L/200-26937 THIS IS FROM TOTAL PRIZE MONEY OF $
25,000,000 USD, SHARED AMONG THE TWENTY-FIVE (25) LUCKY INTERNATIONAL
WINNERS IN FIRST AND SECOND CATEGORY.
ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE SELECTED FROM WORLDWIDE WEBSITES ESPECIALLY YAHOO
EMAIL THROUGH MICROSOFT COMPUTER BALLOT SYSTEM DRAWN FROM 21,000 NAMES,
3,000 NAMES FROM EACH CONTINENT (CANADA, ASIA, AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATE,
EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND OCEANIA, AS PART OF INTERNATIONAL
"E-MAIL" PROMOTIONS PROGRAM,WHICH IS CONDUCTED ANNUALLY FOR OUR
PROMINENT COCA COLA CONSUMERS ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND TO ENCOURAGE THE
CONSUMPTION OF OUR PRODUCT.  
 
YOUR FUND (CERTIFIED CHEQUE) HAS BEEN INSURED WITH YOUR REF NO:
Coca-Cola HBC/200-26937 AND WILL BE READY FOR DELIVERY. IT WILL BE
DELIVERED TO YOU BY ONE OF OUR CLAIM AGENT  (MICHELL OWENS)YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS SHOULD BE USED IN ALL CORRESPONDENCE WITH YOUR CLAIMS OFFICER, PLEASE NOTE THAT, YOU ARE TO CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS OFFICER VIA EMAIL AS WE ARE
PROMOTING THE USE OF E-MAIL. ALSO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CALL HER TO
CONFIRM YOUR WINNINGS AND GOVERNMENT TAX PAYMENT THAT IS ALL, AS SHE WILL
PROVIDE YOU WITH THE NECESSARY DETAILS ON HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE.
AS PART OF OUR SECURITY PROTOCOL YOU ARE TO QUOTE THIS SECURITY CODE
Coca-Cola HBC/OCT/XX07 TO YOUR CLAIMING AGENT. THIS IS TO PREVENT SCAM .  
CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT OFFICER IN UK.
 
NAME:Michell Owens
TEL+44 70 4576 5925   
FAX+44 70 0580 7263
EMAIL:michowens1000@hotmail.com
 
REMEMBER, ALL PRIZE MONEY MUST BE CLAIMED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. ALL
FUNDS NOT CLAIMED ON OR BEFORE THE FIXED DATE WILL BE RETURNED AS
UNCLAIMED AND DONATED TO UNICEF.
NOTE: IN ORDER TO AVOID MISTAKES, PLEASE REMEMBER TO QUOTE YOUR
REFERENCE AND BATCH NUMBERS AND YOUR SECURITY CODE OF MSW/OCT/XX07 IN
ALL CORRESPONDENCES WITH YOUR CLAIMS OFFICER. DO NOT REPLY ANY OTHER MAILS LIKE THIS ON NET, AS THEY ARE A LOT OF SCAM ARTIST OUT THERE PRETENDING TO BE US.YOU MAY SEE MAILS LIKE THIS DO NOT REPLY. DO CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS OFFICER MISS MICHELL OWNES AT ONCE YOU WILL BE ASKED TO PROVIDE SOME DETAILS TO ENABLE THE OFFICE PROCEED WITH YOUR WINNING CERTIFICATE AND FILE KEEPING.
CONGRATULATIONS, ONCE MORE FROM THE ENTIRE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF
Coca-Cola HBC TO ALL OUR LUCKY WINNERS THIS YEAR. THANK YOU FOR BEING
PART OF THIS PROMOTIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAM. OUR SPECIAL THANKS AND GRATITUDE
TO ALL OUR CONSUMERS WORLD WIDE.

SINCERELY,
Michell Owens

 

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam