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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. George Baldwin Jr." <baldwingeorge2020@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2023 07:38:59 +0100
Subject: RE: CONFIDENTIAL INVESTMENT WITH YOU IN INDIA.


Dear friend, greetings. I am not comfortable contacting you first by email
instead of meeting with you or by certified post mail due to the internet
and social media abuse by criminals, but being the fastest way to reach
you, I contact you hoping that you will not classify me as such. Although
we have not met before, I got your contact from your country's online page
and after inquiries about your profile, you were recommended to me as a
trustworthy and hardworking person hence this letter. I am Mr George
Baldwin from London England, CEO of GB Enterprises Ltd, a trade and
consulting establishment. I also ventured into politics before my
retirement. Due to my delicate political background, I am in a slightly
beleaguered political situation, hence the need for confidentiality for
now. I have carefully studied your country's investment opportunities,
political stability and the traditional hospitality of your people and I
want to relocate my family to your country and confidentially invest the
sum of GBP£9.7 Million through you, into any profitable business that you
shall recommend, that can give us good returns on investment (ROI). You
will be my manager and partner and it will be a joint business between us
after we reach a mutual understanding. I also want to know if you have
undertaken a huge amount of money through your bank or by any other means
before to ensure my confidence. I prefer investing in the areas of
agriculture, real estate, tourism or healthcare but I will rely on your
advice to guide me on investment and I don’t know if you can help me in
this regard. Due to my urgent need to relocate my family to your country, I
want to know if you could assist me and find a good home preferably (a
six-bedroom water-front property) for my purchase and relocation. I will
give you 5% of the fund for your sincere cooperation to safely receive the
fund on my behalf in your country and make it available for our
investments. Your nature of business does not really matter in this project
because we can also hire the services of a professional investment manager
while you supervise all investment activity. You will agree with me that
this requires mutual trust and understanding in order for us to achieve
desired results.

I am aware that criminals have abused the internet making it difficult for
people with genuine intentions to correspond and exchange views without
scepticism. They circulate bogus messages, which you may have received,
making it difficult to trust anyone online. I also receive such messages
and am careful not to fall into their scam. I advise people to beware and
report such emails to the appropriate authority for proper sensitization
and necessary action towards curbing the crime. Let me assure you that I am
not part of it as I have my hard-earned name and integrity to protect. To
prove to you that this is a genuine business contact, I will provide you
with verifiable proof of my fund in the bank here in England and if you
need any more clarification to assure yourself that this is not just a hoax
that exists on the Internet and it is 100% genuine, risk-free and legal
both now and in future, kindly let me know and I will make that available
to you immediately. On the other hand, if I need any information to
reassure myself that I am in safe hands, I will demand it from you trusting
that you will oblige me. If you don't want to work with me, kindly indicate
in your reply so that I can seek someone else. But if you are interested in
this genuine business relationship, have the proficient ability to manage
and invest this fund in profitable areas in your country or outside your
country, and think we can work together, please let me know your thoughts,
questions if any, terms and conditions including your comprehensive
business plan, and if it is possible to get my money back in 10-12 years
while the investment still runs. Please revert at your earliest via my
email: gbenterprisesltdl@gmail.com and feel free to seek any clarification
while indicating your secured telephone and fax numbers so I can call you.
Thanks for your time and attention. Wishing you a great day, Regards.

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