419 scam: Mr Christian Anni <cristian.boi@tim.it> WESTERN UNION

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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. )
- "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.
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.
- +22998569400 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- owbg2355@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Mr Christian Anni <cristian.boi@tim.it>
Reply-To: owbg2355@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2017 12:56:24 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: WESTERN UNION

THIS WESTERN UNION TRANSFER UBA BANK UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA
From The Desk Of The Money Gram Â® Cash Transfer
Department Office Address: No 950605 Pennsylvania
Office phone +229-98 569400
Avenue, Buck Run RD Sister sville East Virginia Benin

ATTENTION MY DEAR PAYMENT OF ($6000.00USD

GOOD MORNING PLEASE WE ARE VERY SORRY FOR NOT GETTING BACK TO YOU THE FEDERAL
MINISTRY FINANCE BENIN REPUBLIC HAVE INSTRUTURE ALL THE UBA BANK OF AFRICA
BENIN REPUBLIC TO TRANSFER ALL OVER DUE FUND TO ALL THE FOREIGN COMPANSATION.
PLEASE MY DEAR WE ARE VERY SORRY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE PAST THROUGH IN ORDER TO
RECEIVE THIS FUND IN THE PAST YEARS DUE TO THE CHARACTERS OF THOSE WHO WORKS.

FOR THIS BANK FOR SOME YEARS AGO, NOW THE UBA BANK HAVE RETIRED THOSE OLD WORKS
SO PLEASE TRY TO BEAR WITH US SO THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR MONEY THROUGH MONEY
GRAM OFICE AND I AM ASSURING YOU THAT YOU WILL NOT EXPERIENCE WHAT YOU HAVE
PAST THROUGH AGAIN. SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE THE REQUIRE FEE SO GO AND SEND ANY
AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU HAVE AT HAND START FROM $39 TO $40.00 SO THAT WE WILL
ACTIVATE YOUR MTCN AND SEND IT TO YOU TODAY, UPON RECEIPT OF THIS PAYMENT, I
WILL GUARANTEE YOU 100% SURE THAT YOU MUST PICK UP YOUR FIRST PAYMENT OF YOUR

FUND WITHIN 1HOURS 30 MINTS AFTER PICKING UP THE MONEY FROM YOU, AND I AM
ASSURING YOU NOW THAT YOU WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED AFTER SENDING THE LAST FEE
WHICH IS ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU HAVE AT HAND .REMEMBER THAT ANY DELAY IS
ON YOUR HAND NOW AND DON'T BLAME ANYBODY HERE IF YOU LOOSE YOUR PAYMENT BECAUSE
IS YOUR DUTY TO BE FAST AND START TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY.

SEND THE MONEY SOONEST FOR YOUR TRANSFER TO BEGINS IN TRANSFERRING TO YOU FOR
YOUR TOTAL FUNDS OF ($1.5 Million USD) TO YOU IMMEDIATELY.I REPEAT MY VOW
AGAIN, ONCE YOU SEND THIS FEE DEFINITELY YOUR PAYMENT MUST BE DONE TO YOU AND
NOTHING MORE WILL BE REQUEST FROM YOU. NO ADDITIONAL FEE AGAIN TO AVOID MISTAKE
IN SENDING YOUR DAILY PAYMENTS TO YOU, I SUGGEST YOU RECONFIRM YOUR FULL
RECEIVING DETAILS INFORMATION UPON CONFIRMING THE MTCN AND SENDER NAME OF THE
FEE TO ENABLE YOU GET YOUR $6000.00USD , TODAY AND REMEMBER IF YOU MISS THIS
WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY THAT MEANS IT WILL BE VERY HARD FOR YOU TO GET THIS MONEY
AGAIN.BECAUSE THIS IS BONUS FOR THE ENDING OF THE YEAR.

THIS FUND AGAIN, SO PLEASE KINDLY GO AHEADY AND SEND WHAT AMOUNT YOU HAVE WITH
YOU NOW BETWEEN $39 AND $40 TO SHOW THAT YOU ARE THE BENEFICIARY OF THIS FUND
SO I WANT YOU TO SEND THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE AT HAND WITH THIS INFORMATION BELLOW
WHERE TO SEND THIS MONEY VIA MONEY GRAM OFFICE . AND UPDATE US AMOUNT THAT YOU
SEND AND THE MTCN. SEND THE PAYMENT
============================== ============================== ==
1.RECEIVER NAME ... DAVID NNALUE
2. COUNTRY ... BENIN REPUBLIC.
3. CITY ... COTONOU.
4 ... TEST QUESTION .. HONEST
5. ANSWER ... TRUST.
6. AMOUNT .... AS FROM $39 TO $40.00

SO RUSH TO WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM NOW AND SEND ANY MONEY THAT YOU
HAVE AT HAND NOW, CALL ME ON THIS LINE AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE MONEY.
============================== ============================== ==
Best Regards
Mr Christian Anni
+229-98569400
WESTERN UNION General Manager
Foreign Remittance Benin
Email)owbg2355@yahoo.com
Email) owbg2355@yahoo.com
THIS WESTERN UNION TRANSFER UBA BANK
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam