419 scam: Western Union Promo <hlttr13@gmail.com> Ur Email ID Has Won!

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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. )
- "processing fee" (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. )
- "million dollars" (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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "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 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 free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- western01union2@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Western Union Promo <hlttr13@gmail.com>
Reply-To: western.union810@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:59:53 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Ur Email ID Has Won!

Dear Winner,

We are here to notify you that the sum of Two Million Dollars U.S.Dollars(US$2,000,000.00 ) was generated and awarded to you by the Western Union Burkina Faso in conjunction with western union Foundation.You have been approved for a lump sum payment of US$2,000,000.00 in this year Western Union Lottery Awards organized by the Western Union Burkina Faso in conjunction with western union Foundation.Your Email ID was one of the selected email all over the world in the lottery draw and it comes out one of the lucky winning number.

This award was been selected through the internet, where your e-mail address was indicated and notified.The Western Union Burkina Faso collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online,among the millions of our customers who use Western Union in their business transactions.Only three people are selected Yearly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners.

Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. Award must be claimed no later than 30th days from date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited. Your identification numbers: Ticket Winning Number: 356-00098-3211-222, Reference Lucky Number: 67-99-777963 and Serial Number: 818-09.These numbers fall within the Burkina Faso Location file.

Now we have arranged your payment of Two Million U.S. Dollars(US$2,000,000.00 ) to be sent to you through Western Union Money Transfer. We will be sending the money to you via Western Union Money Transfer, the amount you will receive per day is $10,000. As We have concluded to effect your payment through western union Money Transfer.You will be picking up $10,000 daily until the US$2,000,000.00 is completed.

Therefore,you are required to contact the Western Union Money Transfer Office in Burkina Faso,West Africa via email or phone as listed bellow for an immediate release of your funds to you.

Contact Person:Mr.John Coulibaly,
Director of Operation,Western Union,
Burkina Faso,West Africa.
Phone:+226 76 168 413
E-mail:western01union2@gmail.com

Ask him to send to you a proof, the ownership certificate of the Fund. It is for you to be sure that the fund belong to you. Make sure you send the following informations to the Western Union Officer to enable him process your payment:

Your Full name:
Country:
City:
Phone number:
Occupation:
Age:

Note that there is a compulsory Processing fee of $200.00 only for the payment.Beneficiary will be required to pay for the Processing of the payment before the release of the full transfer details.Please Bear this in mind before forwarding your informations to him.

Comply now because as soon as you send the above required details to Mr.John Coulibaly, he will start sending your payment by Western Union Money Transfer.His contact email is(western01union2@gmail.com).

Yours Faithfully,
Management,Western Union Foundation/Western Union Burkina Faso
Website:ttp://foundation.westernunion.com/ .

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam