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:
  • "claim 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.
  • +34653710982 (Spain, 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.
  • clearagent_carter@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: MRS ANA JOSE <informationcenter@terra.com>
Reply-To: clearagent_carter@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2006 14:17:38 +0200
Subject: IMPORTANT MESSEAGE


YOU ARE A LUCKY WINNER OF OUR CYBER PROMOTION 2006
OFFICIAL RULES
SEE SWEEPSTAKES FACTS

$1,OOO,OOO.OO WINNER!

ANA JOSE
INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
CONGRATULATION
It's coming: the day the Clearing House Prize Patrol is happy to inform you about $1,OOO,OOO.OO prize! (one million dollars) awarded to you as the winner of our first prize cyber promotion this year 2006.in the first category,held on the 31-08-06.
the cyber ballot is draw among seven billions of email addresses world wide, from companys, offices to individual.
seven lucky winners which include you from the 1st - 7th category,are selected ramdomly by the ballot system.
you most be inform that your email address is sponsor by some people that does not want us to say their names for individual reasons.
10% of your winner most be given to them after your process your fund.
try to avoid showing your winning information or details to other people, to avoid mix up of numbers or duoble claiming
lucky number : 147/259/559/021
reffrence number : 336/236/1260.
ticket number:76-89-06-78-43-23-45
important information you most be above 17 years of age, and you most process your winning
under five working days. promt to the day you recieve your winning notification.
to process your winning send your original name(full names) lucky and ticket number to your contact claim agent.
Sincerely,
ana jose
information Department
1-09-06
mr patrick carter your claim agent
email:clearagent_carter@yahoo.com.
tel:+34-653-710-982

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam