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:
  • "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 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.
  • +31610376662 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "DISNEYS LOTTERY" <disneyslottery102@tiscali.it>
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 22:51:52 -0300
Subject: AWARD NOTIFICATION

FROM: THE DESK OF THE E-MAIL PROMOTIONS MANAGER,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT
DISNEYS WORLD LOTTERY, UK
3b Houghton Way, St James Centre,
Leicester City, L30 1RD
================================
TICKET NO: 0012-1259-801-702DSW
REF NO: DSW-L/200-225951
BATCH NO: 2005DJL-05
SERIAL NO: S/N-00180
================================

AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

We are pleased to inform you of the announcement today of winners of the
DISNEYS WORLD LOTTERY PROGRAMS held on Saturday 11th February 2006.
Your company or your personal e-mail address is attached to ticket number
0012-1259-801-702DSW, with serial number S/N-00180 drew the lucky numbers
998-24-976-48-21-94, and consequently won in the first lottery category.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of US
1,000,000.00 DOLLARS in cash credited to file REF NO: DSW-L/200-225951.
This is from total prize money of US 25,000,000.00 DOLLARS, shared among the
Twenty five (25) international winners in this category. All participants
were selected through our Computer ballot system drawn form 21,000 names,
3,000 names from each continent, as part of International Promotions
Program. Your fund has been deposited in an escrow account with our
affiliate bank here in Europe, and insured with your REF NO:
DSW-L/200-225951 and your E-mail address. You are to keep your TICKET NO,
REF NO, BATCH NO, and SERIAL NO. From the public, until you have been
processed and your money remitted to your personal account. To claim your
winning prize, you must first contact the claims department by email for
processing and remittance of your prize money to you. Your assigned claims
officer in the Netherlands:
------------------------------------------------
Name: MR PETER RICHARD
E-mail: disneyslottery@walla.com
Tel: ++31 610 376 662
------------------------------------------------
He is to help you in claiming your due prize. Remember, all prize money
must be claimed not later than the 25th of February 2006. All funds not
claimed on or before the fixed date will be penalized accordingly.
NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please
remember to quote your ticket, reference, batch and serial numbers in all
correspondences with your claims officer.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Veronica Wallace
For DISNEYS WORLD LOTTERY UK;
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________
NB: The DISNEYS WORLD LOTTERY holds the right to cancel your winning if you
are below the age of 18yrs.Employees and immediate family members of
employees of DISNEYS WORLD, its associated companies, professional advisers,
advertising and promotional agencies are not eligible to be winners of this
promotional lottery. Contacts should be made directly to the claims agent
department via email on or before fourteen (14) days after receiving your
winning notification as this is mandatory.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam