ScamVictimsUnited.com

Hello all,

I am new here but I have been baiting these 419ers for about 12 months now, and more just seem to keep coming.

So I would like to petition certain email-providers (e.g. Yahoo, Fsmail, Hotmail etc. but also the smaller ones) to include a warning message to all subscribers about the dangers of advance-fee fraud.

Most of these providers offer you a "welcome" mail when you first sign in. If you have been the victim (or came close to being the victim) of a 419 scam I would like to know your thoughts on this.

Do you think including a warning message about 419 in the "welcome" mail would have helped you? Would you have read it when you signed up, or would you have just deleted it?

If you think a warning message may have helped you, perhaps you would like to write a paragraph below, briefly explaining what email service you were using when the fraudsters made contact with you (so that we could include that service in our petition) and also giving a few reasons why such a warning would help others who sign up for an account. The reason I am asking this is so that I could quote you in a letter that could be sent out to email-providers. I think a genuine victim of the scam would hold more sway with them, as, in a way, you are their customer, and even though they can't be legally held responsible, they could take steps to make their customers more aware of the problem.

Also, if any of you paid money through Western Union, do you think that they took adequate steps to warn you? Personally I think WU could be doing more to warn people sending money to West Africa, so perhaps they should also be targets of the petition.

Thank you

Jien-Yu Hui

It may help to save some people. I know that some classified ad websites have added warnings on their sites about the counterfeit cashier's check scam, and this hekped to greatly reduce the number of people who became victims to this scam. Some sites post a warning on the front page of their site, and others have included it in the "Welcome" or "Thank you for posting an ad with us" email that is sent when you use the site.



I do think that WU should have something posted at all of their store locations. They do have info on their website about this, but this is only good for the people that go to the website first. Having it posted at the actual WU counter locations would help save more people.

I personally think that a small amount of people actually read the welcome note, or even for that matter terms of conditions or any other ISP note, and that a warning placed inside the welcome note would not be sufficient.

I think that perhaps a first, interesting e-mail (in the mailbox) on the 419 Scam, might have a small impact if one wants to take it from the ISP's side.

You all think we should help them out a bit and design a nice polite " Caring" sign and present it to Western Union with a suggestion to post it at all locations would help?

Something like: We at Western Union care about each and every Customer, With the growing threat of Scams in our communities, we want everyone who comes to us to be safe and assured that their best intrest is being placed as our #1 priority.

Are you sending money to someone overseas based on an email plea?

Did this person pay you with a cashiers check which you deposited in your bank?

Were you recently notified you won a foreign lottery and here to pay Procurement fees?

If the answer is Yes to any one of these questions You may be the victim of a SCAM. Ask our caring clerks for more information on how to make sure that your transaction is safe and secure BEFORE you send that money to a person you do not know.

This has been a Public Awareness Announcement By Western Union Where our customers security is our #1 Priority!.