419 scam: WESTERN UNION <financeup04@gmail.com> CONTACT WESTERN UNION

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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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
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.

Fraud email example:

From: WESTERN UNION <financeup04@gmail.com>
Reply-To: wunion1663@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2016 16:27:18 +0100
Subject: CONTACT WESTERN UNION

This is the Western Union Money
TransferÂ® - Money in A Minutes service.

Your Payment Order is #: WUMT-MY79106635/2016.

Welcome To Western Union Benin Republic.

Thank you for your patronage and for using western Union Money
Transfer to send money and receive, we are so happy to have a
customer like you.

For using western union you details were put to the Ballot box for the
ongoing 2016 Western Union Money Transfer Beginning of the Year
Bonanza Draw.

You have won your self â‚¬550,000.00 euros. This fund will be given to
you through our office Western Union Payment Department Office,
Detroit, Michigan, USA or an Western union location within your area.

Your winnings sum will be paid
installment with sums of â‚¬4500.00 euros which will be sent to you in
every Seven Hours (7hours) until the funds is
completely paid to you, this is as a result that â‚¬4500.00 is the
maximum limit our Western Union payment Department can
send per transaction, we are legally allowed to pay you till receive
your winnings fund worth of â‚¬550,000.00 euros.

The Following is the Western
Union Money Control Number for your First payment of â‚¬4500.00: 3125850067
WE HAVE TODAY AUTHORIZED LINKED YOUR FULL â‚¬550,000 IN OUR DATABASE
SYSTEM, HERE IS THE FIRST RESULT OF YOUR â‚¬4500 INSTALLMENT.

Senderâ€™s first name: JOSEPH
Senderâ€™s Last Name: MOTIGWE
MTCN Number: 3125850067

Note that the above has not been
activated for you to pick up because your name has not been activated to it.

To enable us activate your payment immediately you would be required
to pay a small activation charge of â‚¬57. Please be informed that this
charge can not be deducted from your
account because itâ€™s bonded and has been programmed till your final payment.

This would be paid once and
will not be requested to pay it after your transaction has been activated.

Send the 57 euros payment information to our Western Union payment
agent below as soon as it's done.

Upon the receipt of the â‚¬57.00, your programmed transaction will be
activated and you would enable you start receiving your
winnings in â‚¬4500 installments.

The Receivers Information For The 57 euros is as follows:

Receivers Name: MARYAN ONWURAH
Country Benin Republic
City Cotonou
Text Question: Western?
Answer: Union
Amount to be sent: â‚¬57.00 euros

MTCN:
Senders Name:
Senders Address:

Immediately we receives the payment, our Western Union payment
Department shall activate your programmed
transaction to enable you receive your first installment payment of
â‚¬4,500 immediately. Please Note: this control number (3125850067)
should be kept
very safe and secret for your own
security, to avoid someone else
tempering with you funds.

We congratulate you in Advance.
Winnings Claims Bonanza Department Western Union Money Transfer Office.
Thank you for using Western Union!

Yours truly
Mr. West Figo
Tel:+2349038594184
For Western Union Payment Service.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam