419 scam: "MR. PETER WILLIAMS" <james------adams9@att.net> YOUR WESTERN UNION PAYMENT HAVE BEEN SENT TO YOU,

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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. )
- "money gram" (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)
- "w.union-benin@w.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "w.union-benin@w.cn" (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.
- +22998837661 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "MR. PETER WILLIAMS" <james------adams9@att.net>
Reply-To: w.union-benin@w.cn
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:07:54 -0800 (PST)
Subject: YOUR WESTERN UNION PAYMENT HAVE BEEN SENT TO YOU,

YOUR FULL
RESPECT,
Â
THIS DEPARTMENT OFFICE WESTERN
UNION HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO SEND YOUR FUND TO YOUR LOCATION IN YOUR CITY FROM
THE DIAMOND WESTERN UNIONÂ DEPARTMENT HERE IN BENIN REPUBLIC.YOU WILL BE
RECEIVING YOUR FUND ( $4500.00 U.S.D ) PER DAY AND YOU WILL RECEIVE THE TOTAL
SUM OF ($650.000.00 Us dollars) I WANT TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INFORM YOU
THAT GOVERNMENT IS PLANING TO CANCEL YOUR WINNER FUNDS AND TRANSFER IT INTO
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS IF WE DID NOT HEAR FROM YOU WITHING 2DAYS YOU ARE REQUIRE TO
SEND US OUR TRANSFER CHARGES THE SUM OF $39.00 USD FOR THE $4500.00 U.S.D THAT
WE HAVE ALREADY SEND, MEANWHILE SEND THE $39.00USD TO US IMMEDIATELY TODAY FOR
FASTER SENDING OF YOUR FUND CORRECTLY BY TOMORROW MORNING...

AFTER THE MONEY HAVE BEEN
TRANSFERRED CORRECTLY TO YOUR ADDRESS WE WILL MAIL YOU THE PAYMENT INFORMATION'S
YOU NEED TO PICK UP YOUR MONEY IN ANY WESTERN UNION AROUND YOUR LOCATION
CORRECTLY BECAUSE THE ONE THAT IS HERE IS NOT CORRECT BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT
RECEIVED OUR $39.00 USD ONLY.

REASON WHY WE NEED YOU TO SEND US
THE $39.00 USD IS THAT WE TRIED TO DEDUCT THE TRANSFERRING FEE OUT FROM YOUR
FUND BUT THE MINISTER ADMINISTRATOR TRUST FUND OF BENIN REPUBLIC TOLD US THAT NO
ONE HAS RIGHT OVER YOUR FUND AS IT HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND STAMPED THAT NO MONEY
SHOULD BE DEDUCTED UNTIL IT GETS TO YOUR HANDS TO AVOID STEALING SOME OF THE
FUNDS SO IF YOU WANT TO TRACK THE MONEY AND CONFIRM IF THE FUNDS IS TRANSFERRED
ENTER OUR CODE
HERE IS THE CONTACT INFORMATION OF
MONEY GRAM

DIRECTOR GENERALâ€¦MR. PETER
WILLIAMS
EMAIL ADRESS ... Email :( w.union-benin@w.cn )
PHONE NUMBER
:+229-98-837-661.

THEN CLICK TRACKING AND ENTER THE
MTCN NUMBER; 3771704680 ENTER SENDERS FIRST HARRY .....ENTER
SENDERS LAST NAME..PORTER. AND
CLICK TRACKING AND
IT WILL SHOW YOU THAT YOUR FUNDS
IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO PICK IT UP SENDER NAME: HARRY PORTER,

WWW.WESTERN UNION.COM
SENDER'S NAME:==== HARRY
PORTER
TEXT
QUESTION:=======SENT?
ANSWER:==============TO
YOU.
AMOUNT:===============$4500,00.
MTCN :==================
3771704680

http://www.westernunion.com/info/selectCountry.asp
FINALLY URGENT SEND US THE $39.00
USD TO ENABLE US PROCEED ON YOUR PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY RIGHT.
BELOW IS OUR ACCOUNT'S INFORMATION
FOR YOU TO SEND THE $39.00 USD THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER BEEN OUR
TRANSFERRING CHARGE FOR YOUR $4500.00 USD,

1.RECEIVER NAME:....OKOLO
AUGUSTINE .
2.COUNTRY:..........BENIN REPUBLIC
.
3.CITY
:............COTONOU.
4.TEST QUESTION:....who is
able
5.TEST ANSWER:......God
6.AMOUNT:...........$39, USD

7.MTCN : ...........

YOUR URGENT RESPOND IS HIGHLY
NEEDED .

WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON
AS YOU RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE TO QUICKEN THE PROCESS OF THE RELEASING YOUR PAYMENT
TO YOU TODAY.
THEN CONTACT US WITH YOUR FULL
INFORMATION.
EMAIL ADRESS :( w.union-benin@w.cn )
PHONE NUMBER
:+229-98-837-661.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam