419 scam: "MR.SOLOMON PETER"<test@test.com> WESTERN UNION FUND ALERT

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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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. )
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "western.unionmoneytransfer@secretarias.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
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.
- +2348090640383 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "MR.SOLOMON PETER" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <western.unionmoneytransfer@secretarias.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:32:39 -0400
Subject: WESTERN UNION FUND ALERT

WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER,
WEST AFRICA ZONAL HEAD QUARTER,
PAY OFFICE. 90, ROYAL CRESCENT,
VICTORIA ISLAND,
LAGOS NIGERIA
WEBSITE; WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM

DEAR FRIEND,

THIS IS TO NOTIFY YOU ABOUT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT CONCERNING ALL OUTSTANDING
PAYMENT THAT WAS LEFT IN THE CUSTODY OF THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT WHICH YOUR NAME
WAS INCLUDED. HOWEVER, YOU WERE GIVEN A COST BILL IN ORDER TO RECEIVE YOUR
PAYMENT OF WHICH WE ARE CONTACTING YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME.

HOWEVER, OUR WESTERN UNION PAYMENT DEPARTMENT IS NOW NOTIFYING YOU OF OUR
READINESS TO SEND ALL YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY TO YOU BECAUSE WE SAW
YOUR NAME AS THOSE WHO HAVE PATRONIZED WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER IN THE LAST
4 YEARS. IN ORDER WORDS WE ARE NOW REQUESTING THAT THOSE RECEIVING THEIR PAYMENT
THROUGH THIS METHOD SHOULD PAY ONLY THE SUM OF 176.41 EUROS EQUIVALENT TO $235
DOLLARS TO RECEIVE THEIR PAYMENT AND AS A MATTER OF FACT WE HAVE NOW TRANSFERRED
THE SUM OF 5,000 EUROS TO YOU WHICH WILL BE RELEASED AS SOON AS YOU CAN BE ABLE
TO HAVE THE COST BILL FEE PAID TODAY.

BESIDES, MY DEAR, THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO YOU AND YOU HAVE TO COMPLY AS SOON
AS POSSIBLE AND WE WILL START SENDING YOU YOUR FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, 5,000
EUROS TWICE DAILY UNTIL YOUR TOTAL FUND IS COMPLETELY TRANSFERRED. BUT REMEMBER
THAT AFTER (3 DAYS) IF YOU DID NOT MAKE THE PAYMENT THEN WE WILL RETURN YOUR
FUNDS BACK TO THE GOVERNMENT OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA TREASURY TO AVOID
PROBLEM OR WE WILL CANCEL THE FUND TRANSFER IMMEDIATELY.

AGAIN WE HAVE START OUR NEW-YEAR PROJECTS FOR THE YEAR AND THAT
IS THE REASON WHY WE DECIDED TO HELP ALL OUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE WE FULLY ENTER INTO THE
NEW PROJECTS. SO BE ADVISED TO SEND THE 176.41 EUROS EQUIVALENT TO $235 US
DOLLARS IMMEDIATELY SO THAT THE DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF YOUR FUND TRANSFER WILL
REGISTER YOUR PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY,SO AS FOR YOUR FUND TRANSFER TO COMMENCE IN
ORDER FOR YOU TO START RECEIVING YOUR PAYMENT STARTING FROM TOMORROW.

BELOW IS THE CONTACT ADDRESS OF THE DIRECTOR OF WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER
CORPERATE HEAQUATERS IN WEST AFRICA.

Name: MR JAMES TOBA WILLIAMS
Email Address:western.unionmoneytransfer@secretarias.com
Website:www.westernunion.com
TEL+234-80-9064-0383

NOTE THAT THERE IS NO TIME AGAIN FOR US TO CALL ANY PERSON ON PHONE UNLESS YOU
WILL CALL +234-80-9064-0383, OR YOU CAN EQUALLY E-MAIL US. AFTER THE PAYMENT OF
$235 IS BEEN MADE SO AS FOR YOUR TRANSFER TO COMMENCE IMMEDIATEL IN ORDER FOR
YOU TO START RECEIVING 10,000 EUROS EVERY DAY THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY
TRANSFER.

INFORMATION OF THE FIRST WESTERN UNION MADE WITH YOUR NAME WHICH WILL BE
RELEASED AS SOON AS WE HAVE RECEIVED THE SUM OF 176.41 EUROS EQUIVALENT TO $235
US DOLLARS FOR THE COST BILL OF YOUR TRANSFER.

AMOUNT: 5,000 EUROS
SENDERS NAME: John David
MTCN: MTCN.....6518333097

YOU ARE OFFICIALLY ADVISED TO SEND THE MONEY VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER
IMMEDIATELY TODAY.

RECEIVER'S NAME== PAUL UDOKA
CITY== LAGOS
COUNTRY==NIGERIA.
TEXT QUESTION== COLOUR
ANSWER==BLUE
AMOUNT ONLY= 176.41 EUROS EQUIVALENT TO $235 DOLLARS

THE INFORMATION WE NEED FROM YOU ONCE YOU MADE THE PAYMENT OF $235 IS:-

SENDER'S NAME_______________
MTCN_________________ (10 DIGIT NUMBERS)
SENDERS LOCATION _________________

THE MOMENT WE RECEIVED THE PAYMENT OF 176.4EUROS EQUIVALENT TO $235 DOLLARS
WE WILL RELEASE THE FIRST PAYMENT INFORMATION OF 5,000 EUROS TO YOU AND ONCE YOU
PICKED IT UP, WE WILL SEND YOU THE SECOND PAYMENT RIGHT AWAY. THE TRANSFER
CONTINUES UNTIL YOU HAVE TOTALLY RECEIVED YOUR FUNDS (1.8 MILLION DOLLARS). HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU
SOON WITH THE PAYMENT INFORMATION OTHERWISE YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE PAYMENT
THIS YEAR.

NB:ONCE AGAIN,I APOLOGISE TO YOU ON BEHALF OF THE UN (UNITED NATIONS) FAILURE TO
RELEASE YOUR FUND ON TIME, WHICH ACCORDING TO THE RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM HAD BEEN
LONG overdue. DO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU GOT THIS MAIL FOR RECORD PURPOSES ONLY.

DISPATCHED THIS DAY AND FOR ENQUIRY, CALL TEL+234-80-9064-0383

SINCERELY,
MR.SOLOMON PETER
WESTERN UNION®SEND MONEY WORLDWIDE
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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam