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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "i am using this medium to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Mark Harris" <jenni@reedtribe.org>
Reply-To: mark_harris2007@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:08:50 +0100
Subject: UNCLAIMED LOTTERY PRIZE FUND





Dear Friend,

Goodday to you. I am Mark Harris, a British citizen; I am an Executive
Officer in the Camelot Group Plc; the licensed operator of the UK National
Lottery. I am using this medium to seek your consent and cooperation in
the context stated below believing that you will give my request/ proposal
proper and urgent attention.

There is an unclaimed prize funds of the total sum of £5,497,985(Five
Million Four Hundred And Ninety Seven Thousand, Nine Hundred And Eighty
Five Great Britain pounds sterling) in my company.(The National Lottery).
The winner of the prize has failed to come forward for the claim of his/her
prize and most importantly, there is a claim deadline of 180days((six months)
for the claim of any winning prize and after this deadline, if the prize
is not claimed, It will be forfieted by the winner and remitted to the UK
government treasury.

Inview of the above, I hereby seek your consent to present you as the lucky
winner of this prize funds; so that when the funds is released to you by
my company, you and I can share the proceed. Please note that this can be
achievable because, as an Executive Officer of my company, I have access
to all the information pertaining to this winning prize which I will commuincate
to you in due course to enable you claim this funds since the winner of
the funds has failed come for the claim.

Please note that, there have been some cases like this in the past were
prizes were forfieted because they were not claimed before the 180days claim
deadline. Some of this unclaimed prizes was aired on BBC news and the UK
lottery post news. You can check the links below to see and understand what
I am talking about.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/4573760.stm

http://www.lotterypost.com/news/104653.htm

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4153/is_20050708/ai_n14725625

Below are some of the reason why some winners often fail to claim their
winning prizes:

1. The winner may have accidentally throw away the tickets and lost track
of the winning information in the ticket.

2. Some winners do not check their tickets properly.

3.The winner may not be aware of the victory .

4. The winner may have died.

5.Many People are afraid of falling into the hands of some unscrupulous
elements who use the name of my company(The UK National Lottery) to Hoax
people. As they become scpetical about which Lottery is real or fake as
the internet is now noted for scams, schemes and hoax by some jobless hoodlums
making it impossible for genuine and legitimate transaction to take place.
E.T.C.

Please note that, as soon as I receive an acknowledgement of your acceptance,
I will furnish you with the necessary modalities of the transaction. I assure
you that this transaction is 100% risk free, and immediately we get this
funds into your account, our modality of sharing the total sum of £5,497,985(Five
Million Four Hundred And Ninety Seven Thousand, Nine Hundred And Eighty
Five Great Britain pounds sterling), will be on a 70-----------------30
percentage basis------- 70% percent for me, -----30% will be for you.

I am reassuring you that, this transaction will be executed under a legitimate
arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law as I have strategized
a perfect plan to enable us succeed.

I look forward to your quick response while thanking you for your anticipated
co-orperation.

Best regards,

Mark Harris.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam