The Nigerian Message-In-A-Bottle Bank Scam

Warning: if you find a message in a bottle requesting your help with transferring £4,500,000 out of Nigeria, it may be a scam.

Tom Fenton recently found such a message in a bottle while cycling along the Thames. It was written by Barrister Umsloppogas Adinga:


Dear Friend, I am pleased that this letter has reached you safely. I was given your name as an honourable and upright person to do business with.

Let me introduce myself; I am Umsloppogas Adinga a barrister working in the Nigerian inheritance court and have been assigned to the estate of a Mr Bates who has left an unclaimed estate totalling £4,500,000.

If left, the money would revert to the government and I want to get the money safely to a western bank account. If you will allow me to use your bank account for this purpose, I would be happy to render 10 per cent of the estate to you as a fee for helping me with this transaction.

If you are happy to help me with this, please email me at [email protected] with your details so that we can progress this and once you have paid any fees necessary the money can be transferred to your account. May the lord bless our business arrangements.

Yours faithfully, Barrister Adinga (aka Impro)

Fenton says the message "must be a joke." But a police spokeswoman reminded the public to: "Be wary of who you give your personal details to in the street (eg charities, products, competitions etc). Do not sign up for anything until you have researched the company or charity. Never send money to anyone you don't know." [mirror.co.uk]

Scams

Posted on Thu Nov 07, 2013


Comments

For those who don't have email, I guess. They'll get you any way they can.
Posted by Taylor  on  Thu Nov 07, 2013  at  01:41 PM
😖 Well, that's a new one.
Posted by Dana  on  Thu Nov 07, 2013  at  06:32 PM
is that the same Bates guy who owned a motel?
Posted by bookwoman  on  Mon Nov 11, 2013  at  11:05 AM
Umslopogaas was a character in H. Rider Haggard's Alan Quatermain books, a son of the historical Zulu king Chaka. It's clearly a joke.
Posted by Carl Fink  on  Mon Nov 11, 2013  at  04:05 PM
I’m glad you recommended Judith Regan’s interview, it is not included above. Great point Savannah (Grace) about normality. Dana, I’m glad you found my post cotanssiopame. I was trying to be gentle and not come across as attacking Jameson.
Posted by Dalton  on  Sat Apr 15, 2017  at  03:08 PM
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