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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.
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: "Priority Notice" <simonhobbys@nonifamily.net>
Date: Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:35:47 +0530 (IST)
Subject: Without prejudice
Good day,
I am Simon J. Hobbys, a staff of Private Banking Services at the Bank of
China (BOC) United Kingdom. I am contacting you concerning our customer and
an investment placed under our bank's management four years ago. I would
respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail confidential
and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this
mail. I contacted you independently of our investigation and no one is
informed of this communication. I would like to intimate you with certain
facts that I believe would be of interest to you.
In 2002, the subject matter; ref: bb/boc/bank/0012 came to our bank to
engage in business discussions with our Private Banking Services Department.
He informed us that he had a financial portfolio of 8.35 Million United
States Dollars, which he wished to have us turn over (invest) on his behalf.
I was the officer assigned to his case; I made numerous suggestions in line
with my duties as the de-facto chief operations officer of the Private
Banking Services Department, especially given the volume of funds he wished
to put into our bank. We met on numerous occasions prior to any investments
being placed. I encouraged him to consider various growth funds with prime
ratings. The favored route in my advice to customers is to start by
assessing data on 6000 traditional stocks and bond managers and 2000
managers of alternative investments.
Based on my advice, we spun the money around various opportunities and made
attractive margins for our first months of operation, the accrued profit and
interest stood at this point at over 10 million United States Dollars,this
margin was not the full potential of the fund but he desired low risk
guaranteed returns on investments. In mid 2004, he asked that the money be
liquidated because he needed to make an urgent investment requiring cash
payments in Europe. He directed that I liquidate the funds and had it
deposited with a firm.
I informed him that the bank would have to make special arrangements to have
this done and in order not to circumvent due process, the bank would have to
make a 9.5 % deduction from the funds to cater for banking and statutory
charges. He complained about the charges but later came around when I
explained to him the complexities of the task he was asking of us.Cash
movement across borders has become especially strict since the incidents of
9/11. I contacted my affiliate in and had the funds available.
I undertook all the processes and made sure I followed his precise
instructions to the letter and had the funds deposited in a security
consultancy firm, the firm is a specialist private firm that accepts
deposits from high net worth individuals and blue chip corporations that
handle valuable products or undertake transactions that need immediate
access to cash. This small and highly private organization is familiar
especially to the highly placed and well-connected organizations. In line
with instructions, the money was deposited. He told me he wanted the money
there in anticipation of his arrival from Norway later that week. This was
the last communication we had, this transpired around 9th October, 2004.
In January last year, we got a call from the security firm informing us that
the inactivity of that particular portfolio. This was an astounding position
as far as I was concerned, given the fact that I managed the private
banking sector I was the only one who knew about the deposit,and I could
not understand why he had not come forward to claim his deposit.I made
futile efforts to locate him I immediately passed the task of locating him
to the internal investigations department of the Bank of China.Four days
later, information started to trickle in, apparently he was dead.A person
who suited his description was declared dead of a heart attack in Canne,
South of France. We were soon enough able to identify the body and cause of
death was confirmed.
The bank immediately launched an investigation into possible surviving next
of kin to alert about the situation and also to come forward to claim his
estate. If you are familiar with private banking affairs, those who
patronize our services usually prefer anonymity, but also some levels of
detachment from conventional processes. In his bio-data form, he listed no
next of kin. In the field of private banking, opening an account with us
means no one will know of its existence, accounts are rarely held under a
name; depositors use numbers and codes to make the accounts anonymous. This
bank also gives the choice to depositors of having their mail sent to them
or held at the bank itself, ensuring that there are no traces of the
account and as I said, rarely do they nominate next of kin. Private banking
clients apart from not nominating next of kin also usually in most cases
leave wills in our care, in this case; he died intestate.
In line with our internal processes for account holders who have passed
away, we instituted our own investigations in good faith to determine who
should have right to claim the estate. This investigation has for the past
months been unfruitful. We have scanned every continent and used our private
investigation affiliate companies to get to the root of the problem. The
investigation did not ever yield any result My official capacity dictates
that I am the only party to supervise the investigation and the only party
to receive the results of the investigation. This leaves me as the only
person with the full picture of what the prevailing situation is in
relation to the deposit and the late beneficiary of the deposit. According
to practice, the firm will by the end of this financial year broadcast a
request for statements of claim to BOC, failing to receive viable claims
they will most probably revert the deposit back to BOC. This will result in
the money entering the BOC accounting system and the portfolio will be out
of my hands and out of the Private Banking Services Department. This will
not happen if I have my way.
What I wish to relate to you will smack of unethical practice but Iwant you
to understand something. It is only an outsider to the banking world who
finds the internal politics of the banking world aberrational. The world of
private banking especially is fraught with huge rewards for those who
occupy certain offices and oversee certain portfolios. You should have
begun by now to put together the general direction of what I propose. There
is US$ 8,370,000.00 deposited , I alone have the deposit details and they
will release the deposit to no one unless I instruct them to do so. I alone
know of the existence of this deposit for as far as BOC is concerned,
the transaction with our deceased customer concluded when I sent the funds
to the firm, all outstanding interactions in relation to the file are just
customer services and due process. They are simply awaiting instructions to
release the deposit to any party that comes forward. This is the
situation. This bank has spent great amounts of money trying to track this
man's family; they have investigated for months and have found no family.
The investigation has come to an end.
My proposal; I am prepared to place you in a position to give instruction
for the release of the deposit to you as the closest surviving relation.
Upon receipt of the deposit, I am prepared to share the money with you in
half. That is: I will simply nominate you as the next of kin and have them
release the deposit to you. We share the proceeds 50/50.
I would have gone ahead to ask the funds be released to me, but that would
have drawn a straight line to me and my involvement in claiming the
deposit. I assure you that I could have the deposit released to you within
a few days. I will simply inform the bank of the final closing of the file
relating to the customer I will then officially communicate with firm and
instruct them to release the deposit to you. With these two things: all is
done. The alternative would be for us to have firm direct the funds to
another bank with you as account holder. This way there will be no need for
you to think of receiving the money from the firm. We can fine-tune this
based on our interactions.
I am aware of the consequences of this proposal. I ask that if you find no
interest in this project that you should discard this mail. I ask that you
do not be vindictive and destructive. If my offer is of no appeal to you,
delete this message and forget I ever contacted you. Do not destroy my
career because you do not approve of my proposal. You may not know this but
people like myself who have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run
the whole private banking sector. I am not a criminal and what I do, I do
not find against good conscience, this may be hard for you to understand,
but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this move. Such
opportunities only come ones' way once in a lifetime. I cannot let this
chance pass me by, for once I find myself in total control of my destiny.
These chances won't pass me by.
I ask that you do not destroy my chance, if you will not work with me let
me know and let me move on with my life but do not destroy me. I am a
family man and this is an opportunity to provide them with new
opportunities. There is a reward for this project and it is a task well
worth undertaking. I have evaluated the risks and the only risk I have here
is from you refusing to work with me and alerting my bank. I am the only one
who knows of this situation,good fortune has blessed you with a name that
has planted you into the center of relevance in my life. Let's share the
blessing. If you find yourself able to work with me, contact me through this
same email account. If you give me positive signals, I will initiate this
process towards a conclusion. I wish to inform you that should you contact
me via official channels; I will deny knowing you and about this project. I
repeat, I do not want you contacting me through my official phone lines nor
do I want you contacting me through my official email account. Contact me
only through this email address. I do not want any direct link between you
and I. My official lines are not secure lines as they are periodically
monitored to assess our level of customer care in line with our Total
Quality Management Policy. Please observe this instruction religiously.
Please, again, note I am a family man; I have a wife and children. I send
you this mail not without a measure of fear as to what the consequences, but
I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success
and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold. This is the one truth I
have learned from my private banking clients. Do not betray my confidence.
If we can be of one accord, send me your response immediately to enable us
commence this line of discussion.
My email may appear to be too lengthy, but I just wanted you to be carried
along without an iota of misgivings.
I await your response.
Yours sincerely,
Simon James Hobbys.
Bank Of China, UK Branch
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