419 scam: "Barrister.Don Philip" <donphilip1010@gmail.com> CONTACT WESTERN UNION OFFICE NOW FOR YOUR 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:
- "activation 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. )
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "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.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
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.
- +2348023588259 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Barrister.Don Philip" <donphilip1010@gmail.com>
Reply-To: westenuniondept2222@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2017 07:46:39 +0100
Subject: CONTACT WESTERN UNION OFFICE NOW FOR YOUR TRANSFER

Attention :E-mail ID Owner,

Western Union Head Office wish to inform you that the United Nations
Charitable foundation approve and instructed us to deposit your
unclaimed fund worth of $3.5 Millions US Dollars Donation from United
Nations charitable foundation with our western union money transfer
with payment file number KGU/8020182590,please note $5000 has already
been sent to you as first collection of which you will be receiving
per hour until the total sum of $3.5 millions USD is completely
transferred to you,

This is the final notice you are going to receive from this office,do
you get me? I hope you understand how many times this message has been
sent to you.

Sender Informationâ€™s are stated below:

Sender name===========Michael Smith
Test question======== ===what color?
Test answer:=============blue
Amount================$5,000 00
MTCN==================414854****

Forward your below information to perfect the transfer under your name,

Your Receiver's full Name_______________
Your Address: ________________
Country: _____________
Phone Number: _____________

You need to send the activation fee $100,before then you will see the
complete 10 Digit number to pick up the needed $5000 Which have been
sent to you today. So please act fast by sending the $100 with the
information below for the pick up of your $5000 without delay.

Important note there is one man call Mr James Adam who claim to be
your representative who came to our office saying that you send him to
pay the fee on your be half as the next of kin to claim the fund are
you aware of this man ???

Call Director:Pastor.Fred Roland
Tel: +2348023588259

HERE IS THE MONEY GRAM/WESTERN UNION INFORMATION TO SEND THE ACTIVATION FEE $100

Receivers name:..........Eyeiu Tony
Country:.................Benin Republic
City:....................Cotonou
Amount:..................$100
Question:................For What?
Answer:..................Release
MTCN # .................
Sender's name........

As result of the information we got I told them to wait until I hear
from you today to know if you are still interested to receive this
fund lets release your full MTCN of your $5000 installment once we
confirm the activation fee. So if you are interested on your fund,
Send the activation fee of $100 upon your response.

Call Pastor.Fred Roland on phone Tel:+2348023588259 as soon as you
send email to him because your call would facilitate the immediate
attention to you due to his tight transaction schedule,

Yours sincerely

Barrister Don Philip
UN Information Agent

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam