419 scam: Thomas Bamidele Link <henryjame707@gmail.com> ATTN:Beneficiary.

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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "fund beneficiary" (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)
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "federal high court" (This court is often mentioned in '419' scams to give the victim a reason why he/she should send thousands of dollars to the scammers. A 'Federal High Court' exists in Germany and Nigeria, but not in other countries, such as the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Senegal, Benin, South Africa or other countries where fake lawyers in scams often claim to be based. )
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: Thomas Bamidele Link <henryjame707@gmail.com>
Reply-To: hj710@outlook.com
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2022 19:26:58 +0100
Subject: ATTN:Beneficiary.

--
From The Desk of Thomas Bamidele Link
High Court of Nigeria
Three-Arms Zone
P.M.B. 308. Lagos-Nigeria
ATTN:Beneficiary.

This is to inform you that in the course of my investigation as director of
payment verification / implementation committee I came across your name as
unpaid fund beneficiary in the record of the Central bank of Nigeria and
other banks that are suppose to get your funds released to you. My
committee was set up by the payment reconciliation committee to verify and
scrutinize all outstanding debts owed to our foreign beneficiaries in
accordance to the information received from the United States government
and other countries over unpaid huge debts owed to Foreigners.

Having seen your file and my further questioning to the officials of the
Central of Nigeria bank and ministry of finance as to why your payment is
still pending reveals the rot and corruption in the system. The bank
officials told me that the reason why you haven't received your payment is
due to your inability to pay for the required charges for transfer of funds
to your account. When I asked them why they didn't deduct the said charges
from your principal sum, I was given the flimsy excuse that you never
authorized them to do so. When I put the question across to them if they
ever advised you that such charges could be deducted from your principal
fund,the answer I got was no. Now, if you do not tell this beneficiary that
such charges could be deducted from his or her principal fund, how will he
or she know that such options are available for such beneficiaries.

From my investigation I discovered that these bank officials deliberately
refused to let the charges be deducted from your principal fund because
they want your fund to remain trapped in the bank, while they continue to
extort money from beneficiaries under some flimsy excuse. You do not need
to pay any money to any official, all you are required to do is swear to an
affidavit at the federal high court of Nigeria, authorizing the bank to
deduct all charges from your principal fund and transfer the balance of
funds after deduction to your bank account. If you have spent any money in
the past in your quest for payment, kindly let me know so that I can follow
this up.

Yours sincerely,
Barrister Thomas Bamidele Link

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam