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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
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.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million pounds" (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)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "Roselie de Faria Lemos" <rflemos@furb.br>
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2011 05:13:45 -0300
Subject: Regards.
This e-mail is to congratulate you as your email address has won you a cash prize of One million pounds in UK-National Lottery. To file your claims, contact; Agent: Barrister Peter Jonathan with the following below:
Serial No: XZPY/22595478234:
Full Name:
Contact Address:
Tel/Age:
Country:
Claims Agent Barrister Peter Jonathan
Name: Barrister Peter Jonathan
E-mail: agent.chamber@email.ch
NOTE: Do not reply to this e-mail, you are to contact your claims Agent Barrister Peter Jonathan with his information giving to you and keep your winnings Serial No: XZPY/22595478234 confidential do not give anybody your winning detail OR tell anyone to avoid lost of winnings claims.
You don't have to purchase a ticket to enter this lottery. It's a free email draw.
Regards,
Roselie de Faria Lemos.
Copyright © 2011 {UK-National Lottery Promo}.
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Anti-fraud resources:
