419 scam: "MR.MARK ANDERSON" <johnhill4355@gmail.com> WELCOME TO WESTERN UNION SEND MONEY WORLDWIDE

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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:
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "mtcn" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- +22998366853 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "MR.MARK ANDERSON" <johnhill4355@gmail.com>
Reply-To: westernuni1941@live.com
Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 02:34:19 +0530 (IST)
Subject: WELCOME TO WESTERN UNION SEND MONEY WORLDWIDE

COTONOU BENIN REPUBLIC/ADDRESS 455 AGBOKOU,ANKPA
ROAD OPPOSITE TUNDE MOTORS COTONOU.
THIS IS OUR CONDUCT CODE (2110)
WEB:http://site.www.westernunion.com
EMAILwesternuni1941@live.com
Tele-Phone +229-98-366853,
ATTENTION:

THIS IS TO NOTIFY YOU ABOUT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT CONCERNING ALL OUTSTANDING PAYMENT THAT WAS LEFT IN THE CUSTODY BENIN GOVERNMENT WHICH YOUR NAME IS INCLUDED. HOWEVER, YOU WERE GIVEN A COST BILL IN ORDER TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT OF WHICH WE ARE CONTACTING YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME.

HOWEVER, OUR WESTERN UNION PAYMENT DEPT IS NOW NOTIFYING YOU OF OUR READINESS TO SEND ALL YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE WE SAW YOUR NAME AS THOSE WHO HAVE PATRONIZED WESTERN UNION IN THE LAST 3 YEARS. IN ORDER WORDS WE ARE NOW REQUESTING THAT THOSE RECEIVING THEIR PAYMENT THROUGH THIS METHOD SHOULD PAY ONLY THE SUM OF EQUIVALENT TO $79 DOLLARS TO RECEIVE THEIR PAYMENT AND AS A MATTER OF FACT WE HAVE NOW TRANSFERRED THE SUM OF $2,500 TO YOU WHICH WILL BE RELEASED AS SOON AS YOU CAN BE ABLE TO HAVE THE COST BILL FEE PAID TODAY.

BESIDES, MY DEAR, THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO YOU AND YOU HAVE TO COMPLY AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE AND WE WILL START SENDING YOU YOUR FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, $2,500 TWICE DAILY UNTIL YOUR TOTAL FUND IS COMPLETELY TRANSFERRED. BUT REMEMBER THAT AFTER (3 DAYS) IF YOU DID NOT MAKE THE PAYMENT THEN WE WILL RETURN YOUR FUNDS BACK TO THE GOVERNMENT OF REPUBLIC OF BENIN TREASURY TO AVOID PROBLEM OR WE WILL CANCEL THE PAYMENT FOR THIS YEAR UNTIL NEXT.

AGAIN AFTER THREE DAYS WE WILL START OUR X-MASS PROJECTS FOR THE YEAR AND THAT IS THE REASON WHY WE DECIDED TO HELP ALL OUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE WE ENTER INTO THE NEW PROJECTS. SO BE ADVISED TO SEND THE $79 DOLLARS IMMEDIATELY SO THAT WE WILL REGISTER YOUR PAYMENT AND YOU WILL START RECEIVING PAYMENT AS FROM NOW.

NOTE THAT THERE IS NO TIME AGAIN TO CALL ANY PERSON ON PHONE UNLESS YOU WILL CALL +229-98-366853, OR YOU CAN EQUALLY E-MAIL US. AFTER THE PAYMENT OF $79 YOU WILL START RECEIVING $5,000
EVERY DAY THROUGH WESTERN UNION.

INFORMATION OF THE FIRST WESTERN UNION
MADE WITH YOUR NAME WHICH WILL BE RELEASED AS SOON AS WE HAVE RECEIVED THE SUM OF $79 DOLLARS FOR THE COST BILL OF

1)Sender Name:::: Edwin Onyibor
2)MTCN Number::: 951-696-6143
3)Text Question::: How long
4)Answer::: 24hrs

AND WE WANT YOU TO SEND THIS MONEY TO OUR DEPARTMENT WHERE THIS MONEY IS ORIGENATED FROM WHICH IS REPUBLIC OF BENIN YOU ARE OFFICIALLY ADVISED TO SEND THE MONEY VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER IMMEDIATELY TODAY:

RECEIVER NAME:.....PETER ANIEKWE.
COUNTRY............REPUBLIC OF BENIN.
CITY.................PARAKOU.
TEST QUESTION...... A
ANSWER...............B
AMOUNT...............$79 .
THE INFORMATION WE NEED FROM YOU ONCE YOU MADE THE PAYMENT OF $68IS:

SENDER'S NAME_______________
MTCN_________________ (10 DIGIT NUMBERS)
SENDERS LOCATION _________________

THE MOMENT WE RECEIVED THE PAYMENT OF $79 EQUIVALENT WE WILL RELEASE THE FIRST
PAYMENT INFORMATION OF $2,500 TO YOU AND ONCE YOU PICKED IT UP, WE WILL SEND YOU THE SECOND PAYMENT RIGHT AWAY. THE
TRANSFER CONTINUES UNTIL YOU HAVE TOTALLY RECEIVED YOUR FUNDS. HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON WITH THE PAYMENT INFORMATION OTHERWISE YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE PAYMENT THIS YEAR.

DO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU GOT THIS MAIL FOR RECORD PURPOSES ONLY.
DISPATCHED THIS DAY AND FOR ENQUIRY, CALL +229-98-366853
MR.MARK ANDERSON
+229-98-366853
WESTERN UNION'¬
SEND MONEY WORLDWIDE

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam