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 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.
  • trustclaim@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: goo@gooogle9.orangehome.co.uk
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:36:41 +0100 (CET)
Subject: EMAIL PROMOTIONS AWARD!! CONTACT AGENT


GOOGLE EMAIL LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
WORLD INTERNET LOTTO CENTRE
EASTERN AVE 6528
Dear Lucky Winner,
Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the results of the First Category draws of E-MAIL LOTTERY organised by GOOGLE INT. We are happy to inform you that you have emerged a winner under the First Category, which is part of our promotional draws. The draws were held on 15TH of December 2006. You have therefore been awarded a lump sum pay out of One million (1,000,000.00) euros, which is the winning payout for Category A winners. Your fund is now deposited with the paying Bank. To file for your claim, please contact the CLAIMS agent.

Contact Person:
Mr.George Paniou,
Trust Claims Agency
TEL: +30-694-092-9118
Email:trustclaim@aim.com
THINOS 73, 10722,
ATHENS GREECE
You are advised to contact the agents by email.
NOTE: For easy reference and identification, find below your reference and Batch numbers. Remember to quote these numbers in every one of your
correspondence with your claims agent. REF: 3490/445/00045. Congratulations once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Judith Cole.
(Promotion Coordinator)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam