419 scam: "WESTERN UNION OFFICE"<officefile@sify.com> DEAR OWNER OF THIS EMAIL

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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. )
- "00,000.00" (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)
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.

Fraud email example:

From: "WESTERN UNION OFFICE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wmoneytransfer2009@live.fr>
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:16:36 +0100
Subject: DEAR OWNER OF THIS EMAIL

DEAR OWNER OF THIS EMAIL

THIS TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR EMAIL IS AMONG THE LUCKY EMAILS TO BE COMPENSATED AND THE MANDATE HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO US TO TRANSFER YOUR FULL COMPENSATION PAYMENT OF USD1.200,000.00 VIA OUR WESTERN UNION BRANCH IN BENIN REPUBLIC.

WE WRITE TO INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SEND THE FIRST AMOUNT OF USD6.000.00 DOLLARS THROUGH OUR KTT SYSTEM TO ENABLE YOU CASH IT AT ANY WESTERN UNION AGENT NEAR YOUR LOCATION, BUT ALL OUR EFFORTS FAIL DUE TO THE ERROR THEREOFF. ALONG THE LINE WE DISCOVER THAT YOUR ALLOCATED SECURITY CODE FEE IS NOT PAID BY THE MINISTRIES THAT CONTACTED US FOR YOUR PAYMENTS.

THEREFORE, IT IS NECESSARY TO PAY OUR OFFICIAL SECURITY CODE FEE OF $205 TO ENABLE THE TOTAL SUM OF YOUR FUNDS REFLECT IN ALL WESTERN UNION GLOBAL ACCESS WORLD WIDE, AND ALSO EMPOWER YOU TO CASH YOUR FUND AT ANY WESTERN UNION AGENT NEAR YOUR CITY WITH NONE HITCH.

FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF YOUR FUNDS WHICH WAS PROGRAMMED INTO OUR KTT SYSTEM TO BE TRANSFER TO YOU ONCE THE OFFICIAL ALLOCATED SECURITY CODE FEE HAS BEEN PAID, BELOW HERE ARE THE INFORMATION WE HAVE IN OUR SYSTEM BUT NOT WELL CIRCULATED BECAUSE OF THE ALLOCATED SECURITY CODE FEE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PAID.

TO TRACK IN ORDER TO SEE THE STATUS OF UYOUR FUNDS LOG ON TO OUR OFFICIAL WEB SITE WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM PUT THE MTCN NUMBER WHICH IS (8611504480) SENDER’S NAME WHICH IS (ETA NICOLA)

MTCN: ......................................8611504480
SENDERS FIRST NAME: ................ETA
SENDERS SECORN NAME: ...................NICOLA

SO YOU ARE ADVISED TO FORWARD US YOUR DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBER, YOUR FULL NAME, BECAUSE ONCE YOU PAID THE ALLOCATED SECURITY CODE FEE OF $205 THE TRANSFER WILL COMMENCE WHICH IS THE MAJOR REASON WHY WE NEEDED YOUR PRIVATE PHONE NUMBER BECAUSE WE NEED TO CALL
YOU ONCE WE START TRANSFERING YOUR FUNDS FOR FAST REDEEMING BECAUSE WE HAVE JUST FEW DAYS TO COMPLETE YOUR PAYMENT OF THE $1.200, 000, 00. FOR ANY QUESTION OR CLARIFICATION CALL OUR LINE (+229) 93031180.

YOURS FAITHFULLY
MR CELESTINE AGAB
WESTERN UNION FORIGN DEPARTMENT OPERATIONAL
METRO PLAZA, PLOT 991/992
ZAKARI MAIMALARI STREET
CADASTRAL ZONE AO, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
HOT LINE; (+229) 93010868
E-MAIL; DIRECTOR: WMONEYTRANSFER2009@LIVE.FR
FROM WESTERN UNION OFFICE; REPLY IMMEDIATELY

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam