419 scam: "Western Union Online"<western31@imagine.com.ar> Attn: Winner No: 05

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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:
- "from the desk of" (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. )
- "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)
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 Online" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sandra.westerum@rediffmail.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2013 01:01:11 +0200
Subject: Attn: Winner No: 05

WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER
30A Garlei Street,
1st District - 013723
Bucharest Romania

FROM THE DESK OF WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER
PROMOTION DEPARTMENT.
REFERENCE N?: -AJ-147-BRO
BATCH N?: 02/764/RO
Serial No. 02-16-17-29-(05)-(21) 07:01:2013

WESTERN UNION SWEEPSTAKES NOTIFICATION

Attn: Winner No: 05
We the Western Union Money Transfer Services wishes to inform you that, as we celebrate our 60th Anniversary 2013 that you are among 8 selected lucky winner chosen on the on going Western Union (WUMT) Sweepstakes ,which makes you one of the beneficiary to receive a total sum of 228,000.00 Euro which is equivalent $300,000.00 USD.

This is a promotional program and all participants were selected by a random selection of E-mail addresses from an Exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. However, no tickets were sold but all E-mail addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy. This Award is approved by the Romania Gambling Board and also licensed by the International Association of Gambling Regulators (IAGR).

We officially announce to you that your E-mail address was selected for cash prize of 228, 000.00 Euro and you are required to reply back with your required information’s with the payment processing form below for money pickup.

Save time send money earn rewards! Western Union is a service people trust.

Yours truly,

Mrs. Mihaela Andrei
(Western Union Online coordinator)

WE WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2013

PAYMENT PROCESSING FORM

SERIAL REF NUMBER: …………………………………….. BATCH NUMBER:……………………… WINNING AMOUNT: ……..… NAME:………………………*LASTNAME…………………………………ADDRESS:……………………………………………………… CITY………………………………..STATE……………………………ZIP CODE:…………………………………

……………………COUNTRY…………………………………………….*PHONE NUMBER:…………………………………….. FAX: …………………………………..*PHONE/MOBILE………………………… DATE OF BIRTH: ……/……./…………MARITAL STATUS:……………………SEX: M / F……………
DATE: ...../……../……………..SIGNATURE: ……………………………………….

NEXT OF KIN (In the absence or loss of contact with you,): (OPTIONAL)

NAME: (MR/MRS) ………LAST NAME:……………………………………ADDRESS:………………………… CITY________________ZIP CODE…… MARITAL STATUS:……AGE:……PHONE NUMBER:…………………………….…FAX:…………………………………

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam