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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "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. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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.
  • +447045705309 (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.
  • info_intereuro.courier4242@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: Uk National Lottery <claimsagent_alenfoster207@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:45:09 +0100 (BST)
Subject: CONTACT THE COURIER COMPANY FOR YOUR WINNING






Attention Winner:

Congratulations once again. On behalf of the UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL LOTTERY BOARD, we do believe that your winnings will be put into good use for community development. On Behalf of the Screening Committee of UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL LOTTERY BOARD, I wish to formally announce to you that you have successfully passed the Email Screening and Verification Matching Test conducted for all online winners of your Category at the headquarters of the UK Lottery.

We the National Lottery Commission that regulates the UK National Lottery, which is run by Camelot plc and based in the UK. You can now contact Inter-Euro Courier Delivery Express, a courier company recommended by the UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL LOTTERY BOARD for assistance in claiming your winnings, without you coming down to the United Kingdom, they will help you with provision of some important documents, which is your Winning certificate and your Winning Cheque to facilitate you getting your winnings before the next lottery draw. You are expected to contact the dispatch officer of Inter-Euro Courier Delivery Express for your winning Cheque, this means that you have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications department at the headquarters of the United Kingdom National Lottery. You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize that will be sent to you through Inter-Euro Courier Delivery Express.
The Order number for your parcel to be delivered by the courier company is UKL/BOD/757252.
Please contact (Mr. David West) the dispatch officer of Inter-Euro Courier Delivery Express Company Ltd. with this contact E_mail address: info_intereuro.courier4242@yahoo.co.uk

Below is the contact information of the Courier Firm.

Mr. David West.
Dispatch officer,
Inter-Euro Courier Delivery Express.
# 86 / 92 Inverness Avenue ,
Terrace, London. W2 3LD.


TEL: + 44 - (704) 570 5309
TEL: + 44 - (702) 403 8615
E-Mail: info_intereuro.courier4242@yahoo.co.uk

Ensure that you confirm your delivery address with your Full Name, Telephone & Fax Number, to the courier company, when contact the Inter-Euro Courier Delivery Express Company Ltd. with your Parcel's Order Number UKL/BOD/757252 by putting the ORDER NUMBER as the Subject Line of the mail, and also attach a scanned copy of either your driver's license, international passport (photo page) or any other legally identifying document. This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained. So ensure you send your RESIDENTIAL/DELIVERY ADDRESS to the courier company firm for delivery. Details of the contents of your parcel and the duration of the delivery will be communicated to you by the Courier Company once you contact them. (You are to keep me fully informed on all developments.)

Note: Beneficiaries are responsible for transfer/delivery charges of the courier company. Once again Congratulations on behalf of the United Kingdom National Lottery.

Kind Regards
Mr. ALEN FOSTER.
Customer Protection Officer
UK National Lottery Claims Officer.





WARNING:
======
This email is confidential and may be privileged; it is for use by the named recipient only. If you have received it in error, please notify us immediately; please do not copy or disclose its contents to any person or body, and delete it from your computer systems.



---------------------------------
The all-new Yahoo! Mail goes wherever you go - free your email address from your Internet provider.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam