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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
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.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
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:
- "claims agent" (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:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- 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.
- +447011128668 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: infonet@mchsi.com (VODAFONE ONLINE PROMOTIONS)
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:57:41 +0000
Subject: NOTIFICATION(ORDER NUMBER:OL562785)
Dear Winner,
Your email addresses was selected and you are a lucky winner of the
sum of(200,000 GBP) in the VODAFONE LOTTERY SWEEPSTAKES AWARD
2008,contact our Claims agent with the information below for clearance.
Please note that your Original Certificate and your Certified bank
cheque has been forwarded to the courier company.
INTERNATIONAL BONDED COURIERS (IBC)
ADDRESS OF (ENGLAND) HEAD OFFICE: IBC Complex, 363 Stockley Close,
West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 9BL, England.
NAME:MR. KEN BILL(Handling Officer)
EMAIL: ibc-parceldeliveries@live.com
TEL : +447011128668
FAX : +448700684659
Note: You are advised to send the courier company a mail to their
email address for their courier cost. Make sure you copy the e-mail address
correctly to be sure you are sending the Courier Company an e-mail to the
right e-mail address. When contacting them,you are to include this order
number as your subject.Please you are adviced to write down the order
number and save it.
ORDER NUMBER:OL562785
1.Full Names:, 2.Contact Address:, 3.Sex:,
4.Age:,5.Marital Status:,6.Occupation:,7.Telephone Number:
8.Country:,9.Order Number:
Yours Faithfully,
Mrs.Lucy Turner
Online Co-ordinator.
Anti-fraud resources:
