419 scam: "Western Union Money Transfer"<info@wumt.com> Western Union Payments

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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. )
- "you are advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- "lagos" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: "Western Union Money Transfer" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <moneytransfer_westernunion@yahoo.cn>
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 02:22:10 +0100
Subject: Western Union Payments

FROM OFFICE OF THE WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.
ADDRESS 455 AGBOKOU ALABA INTERNATIONAL MARKET ROAD
LAGOS NIGERIA .

ATTN; BENEFICIARY:

PLEASE YOU ARE ADVISE TO GO TROUGH THIS EMAIL CAREFULLY AND MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND AND READY TO COMPLY WITH THE CONTENTS BEFORE REPLYING TO IT. WE
ARE INSTRUCTED BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA TO TRANSFER YOUR FUND TO YOU VIA OUR SERVICE ( WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER) SO YOU WILL BE
RECIEVING $5,000.00 USD DAILY UNTILL IT COMPLETE THE CORRECT AMOUNT ($850,000 THOUSAND).

MEANWHILE YOU ARE REQUIRE TO SEND US THE TRANSFER CHARGES WHICH IS $95 USD FOR THE $5,000.00 THAT WE HAVE ALREADY REMIT TO YOUR NAME BECAUSE WITHOUT
THAT YOU CAN NOT PICK THE MONEY FOR IT IS ON HOLD BUT AVAILABLE FOR PICK UP.

TAKE NOTE: THE REASON WHY WE NEED YOU TO SEND US THE $95 USD IS BEACSUE THE MINISTER OF FINANCE INSTRUCTED US THAT WE SHOULD NOT TRY TO DEDUCT THE TRANSFERING FEE OUT OF YOUR FUND BECAUSE NO ONE HAS ACESS OVER YOUR FUND AS IT HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND STAMPED THAT NO MONEY SHOULD BE DEDUCTED UNTIL
IT GETS TO YOU TO AVOID ANY MISUNDERSTANDING BECAUSE IF ANY ONE HAS ACESS TO THAT IT WILL INVOLVE YOU LOOSING YOUR FUND, NO ONE HAS TO BE TRUST EVEN YOUR MOTHER OR YOUR FATHER.

HERE IS THE INFORMATION OF THE ONE WE SENT TODAY TO YOU BUT IT WILL REMAIN ON HELD UNTIL YOU SEND US OUR TRANSFER CHARGES OF $95 BEFORE WE CAN
RELEASESE IT TO YOU SO YOU CAN TRACK IT WITH OUR WEB SITE.

WEB: www.westernunion.com

MTCN : 6210476549
Sender's Name: EMEKA ONWUESI
Text Question: How much
Answer5000
Amount’s $5000.00

http://www.westernunion.com/info/selectCountry.asp

FINALY UPDATE US WITH THE $95 USD TO ENABLE US PROCEED ON YOUR PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY, BELOW IS THE INFORMATION YOU WILL USE TO REMIT THE $95 USD
VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER BEEN OUR TRANSFERING CHARGE FOR YOUR $5000.00 USD.

SENDER'S NAME.................
SENDER'S ADDRESS................
RECEIVER NAME:.......... Augustine Ofuyatan
COUNTRY:..................... Nigeria .
CITY :............................Lagos .
TEST QUESTION:............who is able
TEST ANSWER:...............God
AMOUNT:....................... ...$95, USD
MTCN : .........................

YOUR UNDESTANDING AND COOPERATION IS HIGHLY NEEDED SO THAT WE CAN START SENDING THE PAYMENT WITHOUT ANY MORE DELAYS.

YOURS SINCERELY,

Lovely Greetings and congratulations in advance.

God bless you.

MRS. HELEN ANDERSON
FOREIGN OPERATION MANAGER
Western Union Payments
Western Union Money Transfer®

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam