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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "lottery winners international e-mail programs"
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • santacliamsmail@netscape.net

Fraud email example:

From: DR.CARLOS PETERS <santacliamsmail@netscape.net>
Reply-To: santamailcliam@netscape.net
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 20:35:08 +0200
Subject: RE:CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU HAVE WON


EURO MILLIONS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL.
FROM: INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
REFERENCE: 67/80/IPD
BATCH: EGGS-541-623-782:
RE: WINNING NOTIFICATION / FINAL NOTICE
Sir/Madam
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Euro millions Lottery
Winners International E-mail programs held on the 27th of SEPT. 2005. Your
E-mail address attached to ticket number 653-908-321-675 with serial
main number 345-790-241-671 drew lucky star numbers 34-32-90-43-32
which consequently won in the 2nd category, you have therefore been approved
for a lump sum pay out of 1.000.000.00 Euro.(One Million Euro)
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that
you keep your winning information confidential until your claims has
been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our
security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of
this program by some participants. All participants were selected through a
computer ballot system drawn from over 100,000 company and 50,000,000
individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This
lottery was promoted and sponsored by Bill Gates, President of
Microsoft, the world's largest software company inorder to enhance and
promote the use of Internet Explorer Users and microsoft-wares around
the globe. This promotional program takes place every three year. We
hope with part of your winning you will take part in our end of year 50
million Euro International lottery. To file for your claim, please
contact our fiducial agent: DR.CARLOS PETERS (SANTA LUCIA SECURITY
COMPANY SPAIN) CONTACT CLAIMS AGENT ON TEL:0034-636-721.891
Email:santamailcliam@netscape.netOR santacliamsmail@netscape.net
Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than TWO WEEKS,After
this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake.
Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications please
remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all
correspondence. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do
inform our agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once more from
our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional
program.
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Sincerely yours,
MRS,COMFORT JOSE
Lottery Coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam