419 scam: WESTERN UNION <andrewfairchildunhcr@gmail.com> Western Union Money Transfer

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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. )
- ",500,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "deadline" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "western123office_u@foxmail.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:
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.
- +22968658051 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: WESTERN UNION <andrewfairchildunhcr@gmail.com>
Reply-To: western123office_u@foxmail.com
Date: Mon, 06 Apr 2015 12:49:07 +0000
Subject: Western Union Money Transfer

--
Western Union Money Transfer
Avenue Mallan; Quartier Kandevie
Bp 1148 Porto-novo, Oueme BP 1493
Benin republic, Cotonou.

Hello
Dear WESTERN UNION Award Winner, Breaking News,2015/ We Welcome you to
our world of promotion Western Union Board Award Group 2015, meanwhile
this is to inform you that you have won a prize SUM of US$1,500.000.00
for the year 2015 WESTERN UNION BOARD AWARD PROMOTION Worldwide.

This
was an Email draw promotion which was held in west Africa/Asia/South
Africa/and Europe/ The WESTERN UNION BOARD AWARD Group is sponsored by
Chevron oil and Gas Company and others from unconventional oil resources
and other international companies. The Western Union Email draw is held
to encourage you and others to play and promote Email users.
All
participant were selected randomly through a computer ballot system of
different Email users over 100,0000 Unions and corporate bodies that are
listed all over the world and your Email ID happens to be among the
lucky 900 Email ID selected by our Western Union Board Award machine
system from over 1 Millions Emails that was used for the contest, this
is how you won the Western Union prize.OF One Million Five Hundred
Thousand Dollars, US$1,500,000,00,
This message might be coming to
you as a surprise but it is to notify all our Western Union Award Winner
about the latest development concerning all the Award that are left in
our WESTERN UNION custody, which yours are inclusive. Hence, our WESTERN
UNION is now offering a SPECIAL BONUS to help all our Western Union
Award Winners that are Listed to our Western Union Headquarters. In
order words we are now requesting that those involved should Comply
Urgently to receive all their payment abundantly in any WESTERN UNION
Benin Du Republic.

Therefore, You are advised to kindly
correspond to this email and lets get started with the wiring of your
Awarded Funds to your Destination without any further delay, Contact and
Call Director CHRIS LONG , now with this information below for further
instructions on how to get your SPECIAL AWARD PAYMENT:

CONTACT PERSON: DIRECTOR CHRIS LONG ,
TEL: +229 68658051
EMAIL: (western123office_u@foxmail.com)
Please Remember To Provide your Receiving information as required
below to the director as stated above:

These are your identification Numbers:
Ticket Number: 011425896/2015
Serial Number: 3872/506
Lucky Numbers:7/4/88/28/01/40
VERIFICATION AND FUNDS RELEASE FORM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Full Name::::::::::
2. Address::::::::::::
3. Sex::::::::::::::::
4. Age::::::::::::::::
5. Mobile Number::::::
6. Occupation:::::::::
7. State::::::::::::::
8. Nationality::::::::
9. Country::::::::::::
10. And you are to provide a copy of your ID prove OR ANY VALID ID PROOF)

As for Your Payment information:::
It
is not safe for us to send you your payment offline, Because we need to
hear from you first before we can commence with the transfer of your
award and you have to make sure you are the only person accessing your
Email before Responding to this Email for Security reason, Note that you
will take the responsibilities of the wire transfer charges or any of
your chosen method on how you prefer to receive your award Before the
WESTERN UNION will commence with your Transfer,

Kindly get in touch with Director CHRIS LONG , now to enable you start
receiving your PAYMENT before the deadline.

Regards;
Peter Atama
WESTERN UNION SPECIAL BONUS PAYMENT DEPT

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam