419 scam: "WESTERN UNION"<barby@rostov.ru> PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS OF US$980,000.00 CERTIFIED FUNDS:

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. )
- "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. )
- "i am using this medium to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "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.
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.
- wwesternunion52@yahoo.com.tr (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "WESTERN UNION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wwesternunion52@yahoo.com.tr>
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2015 08:24:42 -0700
Subject: PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS OF US$980,000.00 CERTIFIED FUNDS:

FROM OFFICE OF THE WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.
LAGOS REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA / ADDRESS 228 NABOKOV,
NAPA ROAD OPPOSITE MESA AVENUE LAGOS.

PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS OF US$980,000.00 CERTIFIED FUNDS:

DEAR BENEFICIARY,

THIS IS TO LET YOU KNOW THAT OUR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS HAVE MANY REPORT TODAY THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE CONTACTING YOU ABOUT THIS YOUR PAYMENT US$980,000.00 NINE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THOUSAND US DOLLARS THEREFORE EXTORTING MONEY FROM YOU IN VARIOUS QUARTERS. WE THEREFORE RESOLVE THAT YOU SHOULD GO AHEAD AND SEND US WHATEVER YOU HAVE AT HAND $40.00 UP FOR THE RENEWING OF THE ACCOUNT FILE WHERE THE TOTAL FUND DEPOSITED TO ENABLE YOU CASH UP YOUR FIRST $3,500 FROM YOUR TOTAL (FUND US$980,000.000) SINCE YOU ARE FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO RAISE THE FULLY FEE. THE ESSENCE HERE.

THIS IS THE LAST OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO HURRY UP AND SEND THE REQUIRED RENEWING FEE; SO THAT WE WILL RENEW THE FILE UPON RECEIPT OF THIS PAYMENT THEN WE SEND FIRST $3,500.00 IMMEDIATELY TO YOU. BE INFORMED THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY THE BALANCE SUM AS SOON AS YOU PICK UP FIRST $3,500 ALSO I AM USING THIS MEDIUM TO INFORM YOU THAT FAILURE TO PAY THE BALANCE SUM WILL LEAVE US WITH NO OPTION BUT TO RENEW YOUR MTCN OF WHICH YOU WILL RECEIVE AND CAN NEVER CASH UP THE BALANCE SUM.

I WANT YOU TO SEND THE RENEWING FEE WITH THE INFORMATION BELLOW:

RECEIVER NAME: DAN OJI
COUNTRY: REPUBLIC NIGERIA
CITY: LAGOS
QUESTION: HONEST?
ANSWER: TRUST
AMOUNT: $40.00 UP

FORWARD YOUR PAYMENT DETAILS HERE Email:[wwesternunion52@yahoo.com.tr]

PLEASE ANY AMOUNT YOU SEND LET US KNOW AND TRY SEND US THE MTCN NUMBER IMMEDIATELY YOU SEND THE MONEY AND IMMEDIATELY WE CONFIRM THE TRANSFER FEE WE
WILL SEND YOU THE FIRST PRECEPT OF YOUR $3,500.00 TOMORROW.

I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK.
YOURS IN SERVICE

DR.DAN OJI
WESTERN UNION MANAGEMENT
REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.FOREIGN CONTRACTOR
OFFICE THIS IS OUR CONDUCT CODE (101)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam