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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 Jnr." <baldwingeorge2020@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2023 20:09:17 +0100
Subject: RE: CONFIDENTIAL INVESTMENT WITH YOU IN YOUR COUNTRY.


Dear friend, greetings. Honestly, I am not comfortable contacting you first
by email instead of meeting with you or by certified post mail and this is
due to the online abuse by criminals. But being the fastest means of
communication, 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. 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. You
will be my manager and partner and it will be a joint business between us
after we reach a mutual understanding. I prefer investing in the areas of
agriculture, real estate, hospitality or healthcare but I will rely on your
guidance and advice to proceed. 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 find a good six-bedroom water-front property for my
purchase and relocation. I am ready to give you 5% of my investment fund
for your sincere cooperation to safely receive the fund on my behalf in
your country and make it available for our investments. Your present
occupation does not really matter because we can also hire a professional
investment manager while you supervise all investment activity. You will
agree with me that this requires mutual trust and understanding for us to
achieve desired results.

I am aware that criminals have abused the internet and all social media
platforms making it difficult for people with genuine intentions to
correspond and exchange views without scepticism. The criminals 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, just
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 even by proxy, and
think we can work together, please let me know your thoughts, questions if
any, terms and conditions including your comprehensive business plan. Let
me also know if it is possible to get my money back in 10-12 years while
the investment still runs. Kindly revert at your earliest via my email:
gbenterprisesltdl@gmail.com and feel free to seek any clarification from
me. Also, indicate 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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