419 scam: "WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT"<catchall@marbleheadmusic.com> WELCOME TO WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.

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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. )
- "abuja" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: "WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrmichaeldeen585@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2015 17:17:22 -0700
Subject: WELCOME TO WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.

WELCOME TO WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.

COMPLIMENT OF THE DAY TOGETHER WITH YOUR FAMILY, THIS IS TO CONFIRM THE RECEIPT OF ORDER FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF). IT IS MY GREAT PLEASURE AND HONOR TO INFORM YOU THAT WE RECEIVED EXPRESS MANDATE AND INSTRUCTIONS FROM MR.PRESIDENT OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA TOGETHER WITH THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) TO COMMENCE THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF YOUR FUNDS THROUGH THIS MEDIUM OF WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.

FOR EASY CONFIRMATION AND YOU SHOULD BE INFORMED THAT THROUGH THIS MEDIUM OF WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER THAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO BE RECEIVING $5,650.00 USD ONLY PER DAY UNTIL YOUR TOTAL FUNDS COMPLETELY TRANSFERRED TO YOU HOWEVER; THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER WISHES TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR FIRST INSTALLMENT PAYMENT SUM OF ($5,650,00 USD) HAS BEING SENT IN YOUR ADDRESS THIS MORNING BUT THE PAYMENT HAS PLACE ON HOLD BECAUSE YOU DID NOT FULFILLED OUR RULES AND REGULATION UNDER FOREIGN TRANSACTION, ACCORDING TO OUR FOREIGN TRANSACTION STRATEGY THE TRANSACTION WILL COST YOU SUM OF $40.00 FOR THE SIGNING AND STAMPING FEE OF YOUR OWNERSHIP CERTIFICATE, PLEASE CALL ME WITHIN THIS IMMEDIATELY OK.

1) STAMP FEE $25.00
2) SIGN FEE $15.00
3) TOTAL SUM OF $40.00 USD ONLY

SO MY DEAR IN YOUR BEST INTEREST, WE HEREBY ADVISED YOU TO USE BELOW FORMATION AND SEND THE STAMP AND SIGN FEE IMMEDIATELY THROUGH WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM MONEY TRANSFER SO THAT WE CAN BE ABLE TO RELEASE THE FIRST $5,650.00 USD FOR YOU TODAY.

BELOW ARE THE RECEIVER DETAILS,

RECEIVER NAME: FRANK EZE
TEXT QUESTION: A
ANSWER: B
COUNTRY: NIGERIA
CITY: ABUJA
AMOUNT: $40.00 ONLY

BE RE-ASSURED OF THIS WESTERN UNION INTEGRITY AND PERSONAL INTEGRITY.

THANKS, I AWAIT YOUR URGENT RESPOND WITH MTCN.

REGARDS
MR. MICHAEL DEEN
MANAGER FOREIGN OPERATION

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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam