419 scam: Western Union <www.western.union@ww.tc> RE: 2010 CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE FROM THE IMF BENIN.

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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. )
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "western-union@ww.tc" (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.
- +22999432938 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Western Union <www.western.union@ww.tc>
Reply-To: bankofbenin@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 04:26:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: RE: 2010 CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE FROM THE IMF BENIN.

RE: 2010 CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE FROM THE IMF BENIN.
Welcome to Western Union®
Send Money Worldwide
www.westernunion.com
Tel/ +229-994-329-38

Attention: E-mail Address Owner

The International Monetary Fund(IMF) is compensating all the scam victims and your email address was found in the scam victim's list. The Benin Republic Government is compensating you because your name was enlisted among those who were defrauded by the Benin Republic Citizens. We have sent you three emails containing the information for pick up, since the last two weeks but we did not get any reply from you, hence we are sending you this FINAL NOTIFICATION.

This Western Union® office has beenmandated by the IMF to transfer your compensation to you via WesternUnion® Money Transfer.

However, we have concluded to affectyour own payment through Western Union® Money Transfer, $5,000 twicedaily until the total sum of $500,000.00USD is completely transferredto you.

We can not be able to send thepayment with your email address alone, thereby we need your informationas to where we will be sending the funds, such as;

Receiver's name:....
Address:....
Country:.....
Phone number:.....
Attached copy of your Identification...

Contact our Customer Care at ( western-union@ww.tc ) with your full information.

Notethat your payment files will be returned to the IMF within 72 hours ifwe did not hear from you, this was the instruction given to us by theIMF.

We will start the transfer as soon as we received your information. For urgent inquiry, call +229-994-329-38.

Thanks,
Rev. Mark James
Director Western Union® Money Transfer,
Head Office Benin Republic.
Tel; +229-994-329-38

CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE
..................................................................................................................................................................
Thisemail is intended for the owner of this E-mail Address only andcontains privileged and confidential information. If you received thisemail by error, please delete it from your mail box and notify usimmediately for correction. The disclosure of this email to a thirdparty is highly prohibited. Thanks for your understanding
..................................................................................................................................................................
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