419 scam: " Mr. Frank Williams" <"www."@yacht.ocn.ne.jp> WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT HEAD OFFICE

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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:
- "required fee " (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. )
- "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)
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: " Mr. Frank Williams" <"www."@yacht.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: " Mr. Frank Williams" <frankwilliam384@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 19 May 2017 03:57:45 +0900 (JST)
Subject: WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT HEAD OFFICE

WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT HEAD OFFICE
24 RUE DUE AKPAKPA COTONOU BENIN REP.
OFFICE LINE: (502) 373-2812

Dear Customer,
This transaction is real & legal.
Western Union Money Transfer.
Address: no. 5 western avenue cotonou,
West africa, republic du' benin

Attn please,

This is to notify you about the latest development concerning all your
payments that are left in our custody which your were supposed to
receive earlier last year 2016. Besides, you were given a bill of $145
in order to receive your payments of which we didn$B!G(Bt hear from you for
sometime now....

Hence, our western union is now offering a special bonus to help all
our customers that are having their payments in our custody due to of
prices in other words; we are now requesting that you should only pay
the sum of $145 only to receive your payments.Besides, my dear these
are the opportunity for you to comply and your funds shall be transfer
to your designated address.

But remember that after (3 days) you did not make the payment then we
will retrieve your transfers, so try to avoid this problem because
this year is not like last year.gain after (three days) we will enter
a new project for the year and that is the reason why we decided to
help you before we enter into the new project.

So we advise you send only $145 today so that we will register and
update your payments for you to start receiving your $5,000 daily as
from today. Be advice that there is no time again for we to call any
person on phone unless you will call. Phone: Tel: (+229) 61839335

After the payment of $145 you will start receiving your money every
day $5,000 through western union until your total amount of funds
$1.200.000.00 is fully paid to you. Below is the mtcn numbers which
you will use to pick up the first $5,000 it will be update in few
hours time once we receive the fee from you.

Senders Name Marcel Kimelman
MTCN 822 564 8950
https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/self-service/app/tracktransfer
Question: Best Color
Answer: Yellow
Amount: $5,000

Don$B!G(Bt expose this numbers to anybody else. You should send the $145
through western union money transfer with the written information
below and email me back with the payment information once you do that.

SEND THE REQUIRED FEE TO THIS INFO SEND IT WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM..

RECEIVER: WILLIAM OFORMA
COUNTRY: BENIN REPUBLIC
CITY COTONOU
QUESTION: TODAY
ANSWER: YES

The moment you do that, write out the payment information written on
the payment slip, forward it back to us which will enable in
confirming the payment you sent such as,
MTCN#
SENDER'S NAME
SENDER'S ADDRESS
AMOUNT:
Note; this is the only payment you are required to make in this
regards for every other fee have been waived by the Federal Ministry.

As soon as we confirm the fee today, we will immediately activate your
mtcn# and notify you then you go and pick up your $5,000 today as
stated. Please note that you need to go along with your passport ID or
Drivers license when you need to pick up the transfer today okay.

Waiting on your urgent respond.
Sincerely,
Sender: Dr Eric Campbell
Western Union Cotonou-Benin Republic
Western Union is a service people trust; save time, send money, earn rewards!

Best Regards,
Mr. Frank Williams
DIRECTOR

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam