419 scam: Michael Wood <shehu2291@gmail.com> Greetings

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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:
- "clearance 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. )
- "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. )
- "tax clearance" (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. )
- "tax clearance" (Tax offices mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. Even after you pay their fake tax demands you will still not receive the non-existent funds you have been promised. )
- "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.
- +22956888807 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Michael Wood <shehu2291@gmail.com>
Reply-To: m.wood@indamail.hu
Date: Tue, 24 May 2022 10:14:48 +0100
Subject: Greetings

Western Union Money Transfer, in conjunction with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) Reconciliation Committee have agreed to pay you a
total amount of $1,350,000.00 USD compensation fund. The compensation
fund has been signed to be paid to you for all the money you have lost
to scammers, your name appeared on our payment schedule list of
beneficiaries that will receive their funds in this 2nd quarter
payment of the year according to our money transfer regulation, We
apologize for the delay of your payment, The sum of $5,000.00 USD or
its equivalent in your local currency will be transferred to you via
WU every day until all the $1,350,000.00 USD is sent across to you.

We have registered your first payment of $5,000.00 USD online through
Western Union Money Transfer, Just confirm your first payment with the
instructions below, click on this website:
https://www.westernunion.com/ca/en/web/track-transfer, then enter
this tracking number MTCN: 6017631030, As soon as you enter the
tracking number click "Track Transfer" to confirm by yourself.

These are the details you need to present to the western union agent.
Also go with your id card:

MTCN: 6017631030
Sender Name: Lucien Anthony
Sender City: Cotonou
Sender Country: Benin
Amount sent: $5,000 USD.

Note: The sum of $125 will be sent to the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) for the Tax clearance of your fund from the IRS Office before
you will be able to pick up your first payment of $5000 Be advised
that the IRS Clearance fee can not be deducted from your total funds
due to your fund being under bond and security account so we can't
take away any fee from your total funds, after paying the $125 then
you can go to any Western union office in your area to pick up your
first payment of $5000.

Yours sincerely,
m.wood@indamail.hu
+229 568 888 07 call or WhatsApp

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam