419 scam: "WESTERN UNION TRANSFER"<hrd@vovantis.com> PAYMENT SENT!

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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:
- "activation 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. )
- "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. )
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 TRANSFER"<hrd@vovantis.com>
Reply-To: westernuniontf@qq.com
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 12:42:43 +0100
Subject: PAYMENT SENT!

I write to inform you that we have already sent you $5000 from the total sum of $800,000 through Western union as instructed by Allen Large (Sender) as a donation from
their Lottery during their charity mission here in NIE last week. For more info on the donation, please visit(http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15795402)
The money is available for pick up which was deposited for transfer to you. The money is availablefor pick up by receiver(you) but when you track it, it will display ERROR due to the fact that it has been deactivated from our head office for security reason because it has stayed too long on air as we have been trying to reach you on the phone for some days now but it was not reachable. Therefore you can not cash it out in any western union office due to its restriction from our head office, will release the fund on hold to enable you cash it. To confirm this, open this link (https://wumt.westernunion.com/asp/orderStatus.asp?country=OM) and enter the below details accordingly to check the transfer status.
M.T.C.N: 0691711481
Sender's Fist name: Mcferrin
Sender's Last Name: Phoenix
Amount: $5000.00USD
With due respect, please get back to me urgently after checking the fund transfer status by confirming the below details so i can instruct you on how to send the $100 to us for the reactivation of the MTCN.
Full Name:
Current Personal Phone Number:
Country Of Residence:
Ready To Pay The Activation Fee? Indicate Yes or No:

Thanks
Best Regards
Mr.Phoenix Mcferrin.
western union Office,
NIGERIA OFFICE.
Western Union® Money Transfer

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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam