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:
  • "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.
  • +27838579649 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • josef711duk@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Nationwide Lotto" <nationwidelottoza9@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 11:36:10 +0200
Subject: Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ref. Number: 133/756/4509
Batch Number: 538901527-Bc68
Ticket Number: 47522765896-6458


We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Winner in our
International Lottery Program held on the 2nd of January, 2006. Your e-mail
address attached to ticket number 47522765896-6458 with serial number
3772-556 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45 which consequently won in the 2ND
category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of Eight
Hundred and Twenty Thousand Dollars. ($820,000.00)
CONGRATULATIONS!

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning
information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and
your money Remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.
All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from
over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from
all over the world. This promotional program takes place every five years.

This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some
multinational companies in South Africa as part of their social
responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have
operational base. We hope with part of your winnings you will take part in
our next year Ten million Dollars international lottery.
To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent.
Mr. Joseph Duke.

and the Agents
Reply Email josef711duk@hotmail.com
PHONE: +27-83-8579649

Remember all winning must be claimed not later than 30th of June 2006.
After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake.
Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, 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.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Lylian Donald
International Lottery (co-ordinator)

N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to
disqualification. Please do not reply to this mail.
Contact your claims agent.

_________________________________________________________________
Discover the magic of RSS feeds at MSN South Africa! http://za.msn.com/

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam