419 scam: WESTERN UNION DEPT <giuseppina.miranda28@alice.it> YOUR INHERITANCE FUND HAS BEEN APPROVED

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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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "money transfer control number" (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. )
- ",000,000" (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)
- "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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
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.
- +22968973342 (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.
- ewardcollins@onet.pl (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: WESTERN UNION DEPT <giuseppina.miranda28@alice.it>
Reply-To: ewardcollins@onet.pl
Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2017 00:45:10 +0100 (CET)
Subject: YOUR INHERITANCE FUND HAS BEEN APPROVED

Dear Western Union Beneficiary ,

We wish to inform you that the United Nations (UN) has authorized us to
remit to you a total amount of $2,000,000.00 USD (two Million United State
Dollar). This amount is to be paid to you because of the fact that you were
selected as a beneficiary in the Last E-mail ballot promotion held in Benin
this 2017, by the United Nations. This promotion is inline with the social
responsibility of the United Nations Organization, which is held once every
year to change the living status of Three (3) lives around the Globe. This
year, yourself and Two(2) other people were randomly selected. On behalf of the
United Nations Organization, we wish to congratulate you formally.

Your Inheritance/Winning payment was paid out to us, by the United
Nations, and they have successfully succeeded in depositing your whole funds
with us here at Western Union Benin. They have now ordered us to take full
responsibility in the transfer process of your funds and thus commence the
immediate
remittance of your funds to you. Be strongly informed that because of our
Western Union transfer policy, your funds will be paid to you via our Western
Union Daily Transfer limit of $5,000USD-$4,600USD. This means that you will
continuously receive a daily amount of $5,000USD/$4,600USD. from us, and this
amount can be collected from any of our numerous Western Union outlets in your
current
location.

To begin receiving your daily payment as stated above, we need you to provide
us with;

Your Full Name--------,
Address----,
Phone Number-----
Your occupation----
Your Sex ----?
Your Age=========

Upon receipt of the requested details, your first transaction will be activated
by you, we shall then proceed to provide you with the Money Transfer
Control Number (MTCN) for the first installment, and we will continue to email
you others after 24 hours of receiving each payment.

For more information on your payment status;
E-mail Mr Edward Collins ( ewardcollins@onet.pl )
OR call our 24 hours Helpline @ +229-68973342 for
any inquiries on the above message.

Yours truly,
Mr. Perez Landrick

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam