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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "australian lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
  • "international lottery programme" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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)
  • "certified bank draft" (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!
• 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.
  • revfrjohnsonpalenberg@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Australian Lottery Programme <yahbetalotteryprogramme_office@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: revfrjohnsonpalenberg@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2008 17:06:44 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU HAVE WON A LOTTERY PRIZE($300, 000.00 US DOLLARS)


AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY INC,

6123 COOL STREET ROAD

SOMEWHEREVALUE AX34587,

AUSTRALIA.

Date:3/9/2008

                                   
Ref: 435062725

Batch: 7050470902/189

Winning no: GB8101/LPRC

        CONGRATULATIONS!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are delighted to inform you of your prize which was

released on the 3rd of september 2008, from the

Australian International Lottery programme,which is

fully based on an electronic selection of winners

using their e-mail addresses from some sites. Your

email address was attached to ticket number; 47001725

07056490102 and serial number 7741134002. This batch

draws the lucky numbers as follows 5-13-33-37-42 and

bonus number 17,which consequently won the lottery in

the second category.

You hereby have been approved a lump sum pay

ofUS$300,000.00 (THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) in

cashcredit file ref: ILP/HW 47509/09 from the total

cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this

category. All participants were selected through a

computer balloting system drawn form Nine hundred

thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia,

United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and

Oceania as part of our international promotion program

which is conducted annually. This Lottery was promoted

and sponsored by a conglomorate of some multinational

companies as part of their social responsibility to

the citizens in the commmunities where they have an

operational base. Furthermore, your details(e-mail

address) falls within our European representative

office in Amsterdam, Holland as indicated in your play

coupon and your prize of US$300,000.00 will be

released to you from this regional branch office in

NIGERIA. We hope that with part of your prize, you

will participate in our end of year high stakes for

US$1.3 Billion international draw.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: Simply contact our fiducial

agent,REV FR JOHNSON PALENBERG at to file for your

claim.

Please quote your reference, batch and winning number

which can be found on the top left corner of this

notification as well as your full name, address and

telephone number to help locate your file easily. For

security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this

information confidential from the public until your

claim is processed and your prize released to you.

This is part of our security protocol to avoid double

claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this

programme by non-participants or unofficial personnel.

  Note, all winnings MUST be claimed by the 15TH of

OCTOBER,2008; otherwise all funds will be returned

as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity

organisations.

AUSTRALIAN.

EMAIL CONTACT:revfrjohnsonpalenberg@gmail.com

You are therefore advised to send the following

information to him to facilitate them and process the

transfer of your fund with the appointed paying bank.

Send your Identification Numbers/Your Personal

Information to her immediately:

Personal Information

1. Full name..............................

2. Country...............................

3. Contact Address.......................

4. Telephone Number......................

5. Marital Status.......................

6. Occupation.............................

7. Age...................................

8. Sex...................................

9.Means For Transfer Or Payment.

1 International Certified Bank Draft.

2 Account Transfer.

If Account Transfer write the name of  bank and  your

account No.....

Name of Bank...........................

Account No............................

Signature........................

Date.........................

PLEASE CONTACT REV FR JOHNSON PALENBERG, so that he

will tell you of how you will receive your winning

prize.

Name: REV FR JOHNSON PALENBERG

Email:revfrjohnsonpalenberg@gmail.com

Congratulations once again on your win!!!

Best Regards (co-ordinator)

DR GEORGE SMITH.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY THIS EMAIL. CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS

AGENT AT ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF

THE WINNERS WILL RESULT TO DISQUALIFICATION

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam