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")
• 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 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.
  • microsoftganttomb@yahoo.com.cn (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs.Larisa Sosnitskaya" <mrssosnitskay.@hamdard.net.pk>
Reply-To: mrssosnitskay@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:14:28 +0500
Subject: MICROSOFT AWARD PROMOTION

MICROSOFT AWARD PROMOTION 2008

Attn:Winner

This is to inform you that you have been selected for a cash prize of
of 500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand (British
Pounds) held on the 20 of march, 2008 in London UK.The selection
process was carried out through random
selection in our computerized email selection system(ess) from a
database of over 21,000 e-mail addresses
drawn from which you wereselected.The MICROSOFT AWARD PROMOTION
is approved by the British Gambling Board.To
begin the processing of your prize you are to contact our fiduaciary
claims department for more
infomation as regards procedures to claim your prize.

TICKET NO: 8603775966738
REF NO: UK 200-26937
BATCH NO: 2007MJL-01

With The Following Details:

1.FULL NAMES:_____________________
2.ADDRESS:________________________
3.SEX:_____________________________
4.AGE:____________________________
5.MARITAL STATUS:________________
6.OCCUPATION:____________________
7.E-MAIL ADDRESS:________________
8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:____________
9.AMOUNT WON:__________________
10.COUNTRY_____________________

You are to contact the Claims Consultant:

Name:Mr Tom Barry

Email:microsoftganttomb@yahoo.com.cn

If you do not contact your claims agent within 7 working days of this
Notification, your winnings would be revoked.
Winners are advised to keep their winning details/information from the
public to avoid Fraudulent claim (IMPORTANT)
pending the prize claim by Winner.*Winner under the age of 17 are
automatically disqualified. *staff of the MICROSOFT AWARD PROMOTION
are
not to partake in this promotion.



Congratulation!!
Sincerely,
Mrs.Anna Marthin
MICROSOFT DEPARTMENT U.K.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam