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:
  • "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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
• 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.
  • +2348038670257 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: PEPSI LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL <p-09@msn.com>
Reply-To: <office@pepsi-811.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:29:46 +0000
Subject: Congratulation You Have Won $20,000.00







Pepsi Award Department,
Pepsi Avenue Stamford Bridge
London, W1V 3DW UK


Attention Lucky Winner,

We are pleased to notify you today that your e-mail id was
selected through the computer ballot system, as a winner of the Pepsi
Online Lottery Program. This promotion is proudly sponsored by the
Pepsi Company to mark their 2009 online lottery winning promotion.

Kindly contact your first category claims agent for immediate processing and transferring of your winning.

Claims Agent: Mr. Paul Bennette
Email: office@pepsi-811.com
Tel/fax: +234 803 867 0257

For verification purpose,Forward to him your claim details below :-

- Full Name
- Contact Address
- Tel Number
- Occupation
- Scanned Copy Of Your Identity

Ref No:- FL/668530092
Batch number:- 452006/14/PFA06/FL
Lucky No:- 21-7-14-04-19-34
File No:- 193.45.24.02
Amount Won:- $20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Dollars)

Note: Your prize money will be transfered to you by Western Union
Money Transfer or Bank transfer within the next 48 hours of you
providing your complete winning information.

Congratulations once more.

Regards,
John White
(International Promotion Manager)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam