419 scam: "Mrs. Vivian Obi" <m.transferoffice41@gmail.com> WESTERN UNION HEAD OFFICE DEPARTMENT

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:

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)
- "cotonou" (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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22990643386 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- w.unionoffice51@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Vivian Obi" <m.transferoffice41@gmail.com>
Reply-To: w.unionoffice51@aol.com
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2020 03:49:19 -0700
Subject: WESTERN UNION HEAD OFFICE DEPARTMENT

FROM OFFICE OF THE WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.
COTONOU BENIN REPUBLIC/ADDRESS ST PETER & PAUL
ROAD COTONOU BENIN REPUBLIC.
WEB SITE.www.westernunion.com
PHONE: +229 906 433 86.
EMAIL: w.unionoffice51@aol.com

ATTN:

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 MICHAEL JONES, SECRETARY TO DR. JIM JACKSON, TO TRANSFER
YOUR FUND TO YOU VIA OUR SERVICE (WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER) SO YOU WILL
BE RECIEVING $5,000 DAILY UNTILL IT COMPLETE THE CORRECT AMOUNT $1.200,000.

MEANWHILE,YOU ARE WELCOME TO WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER WORLD WIDE WITH
TRANSFER AT ITS BEST. WE ARE PLEASED TO BE AT YOUR SERVICE. WE ARE HEREBY
ACKNOWLEDGED THE RECEIPT OF YOUR FUND TRANSFER PAYMENT TO THIS OFFICE WITH
REGISTRATION CODE ON FILE WITH A SERIAL NUMBER (CU/9023118308). MEANWHILE
YOU ARE REQUIRE TO SEND US THE TRANSFER CHARGES WHICH is $50 FOR THE $5000
THAT WE HAVE ALREADY REMITTED TO YOUR NAME BECAUSE WITH OUT THAT YOU CAN
NOT PICK THE MONEY BECAUSE IT IS ON HOLD.

NOTE: REASON WHY WE NEED YOU TO SEND US THE $50.00 USD IS THAT WE TRIED TO
DIDUCT THE TRANSFERING FEE OUT FROM YOUR FUND BUT THE PAYMENT ADMINISTRATOR
OFFICER OF BENIN REPUBLIC WESTERN UNION HEAD OFFICE TOLD US THAT NO ONE HAS
ACCESS OVER YOUR FUND AS IT HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND STAMPED THAT NO MONEY SHOULD
BE DIDUCTED UNTIL IT GETS TO YOU TO AVOID ANY MISUNDERSTANDING BEACUSE IF
ANY ONE HAS ACCESS TO THAT IT WILL INVOLVE YOU LOOSING YOUR FUND.

HERE IS THE INFORMATION OF THE ONE WE SENT TODAY TO YOU BUT IT WILL REMAIN
ON HOLD UNTIL YOU SEND US OUR TRANSFER CHARGES OF $50.00 USD BEFORE WE CAN
RELEASESE IT TO YOU SO YOU CAN TRACK IT WITH OUR WEB SITE.

WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM <http://www.westernunion.com>
SENDERS first Name==CRAIG
SENDERS, last Name==MORRISON
MTCN NUMBER:=== 3389649402
QUESTION====GOD IS
TEST ANSWER===GOOD
AMOUNT====$5000:00 USD

NOTE: THE MTCN WILL REMAIN PENDING UNTIL WE RECEIVED OUR TRANSFER CHARGE OF
$50.00 BEFORE IT COULD BE ACTIVATED BY THE COMPUTER FOR YOU TO HAVE ACCESS
TO TRACK IT USING OUR WORLD WIDE SYSTEM SERVICE. WE WOULD HAVE DEDUCTED THE
$50.00 FROM THE TOTAL SUM BUT OUR MANAGEMENT POLICY DOES NOT ALLOW US TO
DEDUCT FROM IT FOR SECURITY REASONS AND TO AVOID FRAUD PENETRATION.

PLEASE YOU ARE EXPECTED TO SEND THE $50.00 ITUNES CARD FOR US TO ACTIVATE THE
MTCN AS TO ENABLE YOU PICK YOUR FIRST INSTALLMENTAL PAYMENT OF $5000 WHICH WE
HAVE ALREADY TRANSFERED. WE AWAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU WITH AN EVIDENCE OF PAYMENT
OF $50.00 TO ENABLE US ORDER FOR THE RELEASE OF YOUR FIRST
INSTALLMENTAL PAYMENT
OF $5,000.00

YOUR URGENT RESPOND IS HIGHLY NEEDED .
NOTICE: THIS PAYMENT WAS APPROVED BY THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCES BENIN
REPUBLIC TO THE ABOVE BENFICIARY NAME ONLY.
Thanks For Using Western Union Office
SINCERELY REGARDS,
MRS. VIVIAN OBI
PAYMENT DEPARTMENT FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE INCONJUCTION
WITH WESTERN UNION OFFICE

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:

This e-mail, including any attachments,contains information from Mrs. Vivian
Obi, Western Union Benin Republic Manager Group, Inc, which may be confidential
or privileged. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual
or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any
disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is
prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender
immediately by "reply to sender only" message and destroy all electronic and
hard copies of the communication, including attachments.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam