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:
  • "claims agent" (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)
  • "00,000.00" (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.
  • +447045707607 (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.
  • rev_patrickwhite@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: jassica kant <jassicakant@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 06:46:54 +0000
Subject: Congratulations Ending of the Year Winner,


Dear Winner,Your email has won you 2,000,000.00 Great British Pounds. all the e-mail addresses of the people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to All email Addresses, and others we only selected Nine (9) candidates annually as our winners through Electronic Balloting System (EBS) without the candidates applying, we congratulate you for being one of the people selected. This was organized by GOLDEN JUBILEE PROMOTION BY MICROSOFT..You are therefore advised to send the following information to your claims Agent to enable him/her facilitate the process of transfer of your fund with the appointed paying bank.Send your Identification Numbers/Your Personal Information to him immediately: Means For your Transfer winning Prize Payment. If Account Transfer is your choice provide all your banking details to the paying bank or your agent Or through bank draft then provide your contact address where you will receive your draft. Contact immediately ourClaims Department Below with the details below.Contact Person: Rt Rev Patrick White.Email: rev_patrickwhite@yahoo.co.uk Tel + 447045707607 Congratulations once again.Yours in service,Jessica Kant.
_________________________________________________________________
Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger 
http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/launch80/default.aspx?locale=en-us&source=wlmailtagline

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam