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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
• 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.
  • +34652677942 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • seduardo02@yahoo.es
  • euromillionesloteria@excite.com

Fraud email example:

From: seduardo20@yahoo.de
Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:56:13 -0500
Subject: Dear Lucky Winner!!!*SERIAL No: 05908*



FROM THE DESK OF THE LOTTERY COORDINATOR
FROM DESK OF PROMOTION MANAGER (EUROMILLIONS LOTTERY)
Calle Hermanos Noblejas no 1, 28037 Madrid. Spain.
www.euromillionlottery.com
YOUR EMAIL ID HAS WON €1,100,000:00 (ONE Million One hundred Thousand
Euro) in the first category of our computer ballot email lottery.
The Validity period of the winnings is for 21 working days hence you
are expected to make your claims immediately, any claim not made before
this date will be returned to the MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIA Y HACIENDA.
Do contact the Details below for further Clarifications and to claim
Prize with your winning informations via Telephone or email for immediate
payment of your prize.
Contact Person: Sanchez Eduardo.
C/SAN Fernando 41, Planta 4c
28807 Madrid, Spain.
PHONE: +34 652 677 942
FACSIMILE: +34 917 615 191
E-MAIL:seduardo02@yahoo.es
WINNING INFORMATIONS
REF No: 9590 ES 9414 (BATCH No: 573881545-ES/2008)
(TICKET No:PP 3502 /8707-01) (SERIAL No: 05908 LUCKY No: 9-43-97)
You are advice to provide the following informations,
Your Full Name:...................................
Home And Office Telephone Numbers:................
Mobile Telephone Number:..........................
Contact Address:..................................
Nationality:......................................
Occupation:.......................................
Sex:..............................................
Marital Status....................................
Age:..............................................
State/City:.......................................
Fax Number:.......................................
Amount won:.......................................
Winning email address:............................
Thank you for being part of our promotional program.
Yours Faithfully,
Martin Enrique
Lottery Coordinator.
Cc:euromillionesloteria@excite.com
Copyright 1994-2008 The Euromilliones National Lottery Inc.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam