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:
  • "million dollars" (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)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
• 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.
  • +23414353715 (Nigeria, landline)
• 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.
  • drjohnoko@walla.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Peters" <infotinaoffice1@walla.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:08:43 -0700
Subject: Re: You email won Western Union Lottery



First Bank Of Nigeria Plc
First Bank Wester Union E-Lotter
35, Marina, Lagos
Mrs. Tina Peter

NOTICE WESTERN UNION LOTTERY WINERS OF THE SEASON
Dear esteemed customer,

(congratulations!!!!) The First Bank of Nigerian plc
congratulates you today as one of her lottery lucky winers
of the season , the first bank, Western Union Lottery
promotion was made open to all 1-2-3-and 4-time patronizers
of western union round the globe by means of sending or
receiving money from their business partners , loved ones ,
friends and well wishers via Western Union Money Transfer
system as one of the fastest electronic wire transfer
medium. Email address ballot was carry by our lotto machine
and your email happened to be one of the winners that
emerge from the list. the lottery amount to be won by a
customer is us$1million dollars each for a lucky winer, on
your response as a lucky winner.

Your Western Union Lottery winning reference numbers are
Reference No. - 545000358, Pin Code No - 44779 and MTC No.-
Undisclosed
Now contact Mr. John Oko the processing official with this
information below for the immediate claim of your money.
Name: Mr. John Oko
Email: drjohnoko@walla.com
Tel: 234-1-4353715

Contact Mr. John Oko with your reference numbers for more
directives for the claims.
Yours faithfuly,


Mrs. Tina Peters

(<<<<<CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT<<<< FIRST BANK NIGERIA
PLC<<<)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam