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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "to your nominated bank account" (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)
  • "cheque " (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!

Fraud email example:

From: Doctor Goodluck Benjamin <drgoodluck_benjamine@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:54:38 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Prize Procedure


Dear Garrick Saengstein,

I am in receipt of your mail. First of all accept my congratulation as you were among the lucky ones to have won in the high category of this year cash award.I wish to inform you that there are procedures to the award payment and the procedures must be followed in total in all payments. I will guild you in this Procedure as your claim agent.

To proceed with the claim of the funds, I will have to tell you some of the procedures to enable your Claim to be faster.

1) I WOULD NEED YOUR COMPLETE NAME AND ADDRESS,
2) I WOULD ALSO NEED YOUR PHONE NUMBER, CELL PHONE NUMBER
3) YOUR AGE AND NATIONALITY
4) YOU’RE OCCUPATION

The above information will be used to secure your prize certificate from the lottery board as the legal Winner and owner of this prize award.

THE PRIZE WINNING CERTIFICATE WILL HAVE TO BE OBTAINED FROM THE MINISTERIO DE HACIENDA BY THE HEAD OF OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT COPY OF WHICH WILL BE FORWARDED TO YOU FOR YOUR PRIZE REFERNCE AND RECORD UPDATE . WE ON OUR PART WILL SEND YOU THE CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE FOR THE PRIZE MONEY WITH THE TRANSFERING OR PAYING BANK IN COMPLIANCE WITH YOUR CHIOCE OF PAYMENT AS WILL BE INDICATED IN THE INSURANCE PROCESSING FORM.

ONCE ALL THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN SOUGHT AND SUBMITTED TO THE BANK YOUR PRIZE MONEY WILL BE TRANSFERED TO YOUR NOMINATED BANK ACCOUNT WITHIN 72HRS.YOU CAN ALSO BE PAID VIA CERTIFIED CHEQUE DRAWN IN YOUR NAME AND PAYABLE TO YOU ONLY. HOWEVER WILL BE DETERMINED BY YOUR CHIOCE OF MODE OF PAYMENT.

The certificate will also qualify and validate your Winning for payment as soon as this certificate is ready, I shall send a Copy to you and will also give you the contacts of the Payment center for the final payment of your prize Money.

Please I want you to always be quick with your response to my mail so as to enable us complete the procedure fast for the payment of your prize money. I await your quick response to this mail with the above requested information.

Please include all the needed information while replying this mail. Please indicate the necessary code to your telephone.

Congratulation once again as I Wait you’re prompt response.

Yours
Sincerely,
Dr.GoodLuck Banjamine
DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN OPERATIONS




Dear Sir,

I believe you must think that my english is not good, I am sorry but it is not my first language.

It is probable that you are cognisant of the confidential issue detailed below. Am I correct in confirming to you again my interest? Your help is exigent for me.

Garrick Saengstein

--- Forwarded email ---







































---------------------------------
Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam