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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:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "jimyongkim34@englandmail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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!
Fraud email example:
From: "JIM YONG KIM" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jimyongkim34@englandmail.com>
Date: Sat, 21 May 2016 15:38:00 -0700
Subject: MICROSOFT AWARD LOTTERY 2016.
MICROSOFT AWARD LOTTERY 2016.
British Microsoft Award Headquarters:
Customer service: Cardinal Place
60A-100 Victoria Street London SW1E 5JL.
WINNER NO: 2
THESE ARE YOUR WINNING IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS AS LISTED BELOW:
Batch Number = YPB/08/APA-43658.
Reference Number = YPN560772011.
Award File Security code = UK/ZN/QU34009.
This Email is to notify you that you have emerged a winner of the sum of
850,000.00 Pounds (Eight Hundred & Fifty Thousand British Pounds) in the Microsoft Quarter giveaway.
We do this every Quarter of the year to encourage prospective Internet/Microsoft users
worldwide.
KINDLY SEND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION TO YOUR CLAIM AGENT TO FACILITATE
THE RELEASE OF YOUR FUND.
1. Full Name:
2. Country or Residence:
3. Telephone :
4. Fax Number:
5. Sex:
6. Date of birth:
7. Marital Status:
8. E-Mail Address:
9. Occupation:
10. Contact Address:
Once your agent acknowledges receipt of this required detail, payment
process would commence immediately.
YOU ARE HEREBY ADVISED NOT TO DISCLOSE THE CONTENT OF THIS PRIZE AWARD
UNTIL YOUR MONEY HAVE BEEN REMITTED TO YOU TO AVOID
DISQUALIFICATION THAT WILL ARISE FROM DUAL CLAIM.
Microsoft Fund Release Department,
Fund Release Officer>>> Mr. Jim Young Kim.
Email: jimyongkim34@englandmail.com
Congratulation Once Again
For Microsoft Inc.,
Eng. Winfred Char
© 2014 Microsoft Corporation
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Anti-fraud resources:
