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:
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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.
  • +447024060333 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • robertyoung_claimsagent003@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: pepsi promotions <pepsipromotion@companywinnigdraws03.orangehome.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 06:57:01 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU HAVE WON ( PEPSI PROMO 2006 ).





PEPSI PROMOTIONS 2006.

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded annual final draws held on the 6TH OF OCTOBER, 2006 PEPSI Company Worldwide Promotion, your email was among the 20 Lucky winners who won £1,000,000.00 each on the PEPSI Company.

However the results were released on the 17TH OF OCTOBER, 2006 and your email was attached to ticket number (PSPPR2006) and ballot number (BN:225182006/20). The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses from an exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. However, no tickets were sold but all email addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy.

The selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world.

This Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).This lottery is the 3rd of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public.

In other to claim your £1,000,000.00 prize winning, which has been deposited in a designated bank. However,you will have to fill the form below and send it to the Promotion manager of The PEPSI Company for verification and then you will be directed to the bank where a cheque of £1,000,000.00 has already been deposited in your favour.

NAME:.....................................
AGE:........................................
SEX:........................................
ADDRESS:...............................
EMAIL:....................................
PHONE:...................................
OCCUPATION:.........................
COMPANY:..............................
COUNTRY:...............................

Please you are adviced to complete the form and send it immediately to our Promotion manager through email or fax for prompt collection of your fund from the designated bank.

(CONTACT PROMOTION MANAGER)

Name: Mr. Robert Young
Phone # : +44702 406 0333
E MAIL: robertyoung_claimsagent003@yahoo.co.uk


You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public especially your ticket number and ballot number. (This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained).

*Staff of PEPSI Company are not to partake in this Lottery PLEASE BE WARNED*

Accept my hearty congratulations once again!

Yours faithfully,
Mrs. Tracy White

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam