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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "fiduciary 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.
  • +31620478203 (Netherlands, 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.
  • mrfransegelder@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Prize Award Dept <baileyvtr@aim.com>
Reply-To: natalieVr@nz11.com
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:10:44 +0200
Subject: AWARD WINNING PRIZE.


CABLE, DSL, LAN & DIAL-UP
GLOBAL INTERNET BROADBAND AND NARROWBRAND LOTTERY WINNERS
POSTBUS 784320 73853
AMSTERDAM
REF: BCT72863-038376-9HJI792-34
RFL: 8763-0997-111156
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners International programs held on the 29th August 2006.
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 56459021261 with serial number 9784321716 drew
lucky numbers 04-62-88-75-9142 which consequently won in the 1st category, you have therefore been
approved for a lump sum pay out of US$ 945,000.00(Nine Hundred and Fourty-five Thousand United States Dollars)

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 15,000 company and
4,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every
year.
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by World largest internet providers,software magnates, we hope with part of your winning you will take part in our next year USD$15 million
International Promotion lottery. To file for your claim,
please contact our fiduciary Agent:

Hr. Franse Gelder
Assistant Foreign Operations Director,
TEL: +31620478203
FAX: +31-84-725-6356
Email: mrfransegelder@aim.com
Remember all winnings must be claimed at our payment center later than 9th September 2006.
after this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary claim delays and complications endeavor to quote your reference and batch numbers in all first correspondence.
Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible. We hope with part of your winning you will take part in our next year $15 million dollars international
lottery.
Congratulations!!!
Once more from our members of staff, we thank you
for being part of our promotional program.



Sincerely yours,
Mrs Burge Ruth
Secretary

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam