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:
  • "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.
  • +447031875995 (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.
  • pofficergreymark@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: =?utf-8?q?Overseas=20Lottery=20International?= <overseaslottery_i@yahoo.com.co>
Reply-To: pofficergreymark@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 08:17:32 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: TREAT AS URGENT


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:overseaslottery_i@yahoo.com.co



- OVERSEAS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL 12, BRIDGE STREET,STAINES MIDDLESEX TW18 4TP UK.LONDON ENGLAND.REF NUMBER: OSL/653/029/03 BATCH NUMBER: AT-040-SB06-03 NOTE: ALL EMAIL SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:pofficergreymark@gmail.com Dear Winner,We are delighted to inform you that as a result of our recent lottery draw held on Tuesday 1st July 2008 your email address was attached to ticket number 27522465896-532 with serial number 652-662 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-23-31-45 which consequently won in the Second category which is the First quarter payment of the year 2008.You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 500,000.00 pounds (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS). Note that all participants in this lottery program have been selected randomly through a computer ballot system drawn from over 11 companies and 72 individual email addresses from all search engines and websites.This promotional program takes place twice every year; it is promoted and sponsored by eminent personalities like the Sultan of Brunei, Bill Gates of Microsoft inc and other corporate organizations. This is to encourage the use of the Internet and computers worldwide.For security purpose and clarity, we advise that you keep your winning information confident ial until your claims have been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid impersonation of making a wrong payment and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.You are requested to contact our payment department officer below to assist you with your winnings and subsequent payments. All winnings must be claimed not later than three weeks (21 days), after the date of this notice all unclaimed winning prize shall be canceled.Please note, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications,remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in allcorrespondence.Furthermore, if there should be any change of address do not hesitate to inform the payment officer as soon as possible.Contact Person: Mr. GREY MARK.Payment Department Officer,Overseas Lottery International.E-mail contact:pofficergreymark@gmail.com Tel: +44-703-187-5995Tel: +44-703-186-7464 Fax: +44-707-575-7135LOTTERY WINNERS APPLICATION FORM OF PAYMENT.THIS FORM SHOULD BE FILL CORRECTLY BY THE BENEFICIARY OF THE SAID WINNING PRIZE AND FORWARD OR FAX TO OUR PAYMENT DEPARTMENT FOR VERIFICATION BEFORE PAYMENT.DECLARATION:I,......................HEREBY DECLARE THAT THE ABOVE INFORMATION ARE TRUE AND BINDING ON ME.IF AT ANY TIME IT IS DISCOVERED THAT I HAVE GIVEN ANY FALSE INFORMATION,I WILL FORFEIT MY RIGHTS TO MY WINNINGS.TITLE....................................................FIRST NAME...............................................LAST NAME................................................DATE OF BIRTH............................................CONTACT ADDRESS..........................................SEX......................................................AGE......................................................NATIONALITY..............................................OCCUPATION...............................................TELEPHONE................................................EFAX....................................................DATE.....................................................SIGNATURE/FULL NAME......................................WINNER'S REF/BATCH NO..............................APPROVED FOR PAYMENT.EXECUTIVES AWARDING MANAGER'S REMARK.Dear winner, Take note that any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winner, will result to impersonation of making wrong payment. Equally, note that the Program regulates people below eighteen years of age are ineligible to participate.Congratulations on your winning!!!Yours in service,Mrs. Grace Moore.Executive Awarding Manager

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam