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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: Wan Yonghong <info@hongkong.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: wan_yonghong17@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:48:56 -0500
Subject:
Wan Yonghong
Standard Chartered Bank
Hong Kong Branch
Thank you for giving me your time. Please be patient and read my email
to
you.
I am a staff of Standard Chartered Bank attached in Private Banking
services. I am contacting you concerning a customer and, an investment
placed under our banks management 4 years ago, I contacted you
independently of our investigation and no one is informed of this
communication and I would like to intimate you with certain facts that I
believe would be of interest to you.
In 2003, the subject matter; ref:SSCB/SCB/bank/77 came to our bank to
engage in business discussion with our Private Banking Service 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 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
Service 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 600 traditional stocks and bond managers and alternative
investments. Based on my advice, we spun the money around various
opportunities and made attractive margins for our first month 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 in Europe. I informed
him that our 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 Europe and had the funds available in main
land Europe. 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 25th February 2005. In June last year, we
got a call from the security firm informing us of 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 our bank. Four days later, information started to trickle in, that he
was apparently dead. A person who suited his description was declared dead
of a heart attack in Cannes, 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 in testate.
What I wish to relate to you will smack of unethical practice but I want
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
the finance firm, 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. The finance firm has
no single idea of what's the history or nature of the deposit. 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 instruct the finance firm to
release 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 and no
more. 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. But on the other hand, you as a foreigner and also with all the
necessary legal and official documentations from me and the presiding
attorney and also with the authority vested upon me by the original
depositor, you would easily pass as the beneficiary with the rights to
claim. I assure you that I could have the deposit released to you in a few
days. I will simply inform our bank of the final closing of the file
relating to the customer. I will then officially communicate with the
finance company and instruct them to release the deposit to you.
With these two things: all is done. The alternative would be for us to
have the 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 or 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 once in a lifetime. I cannot let this
chance pass me by I hope you understand because for once I found myself in
total control and face to face with 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 married woman with 2 kids 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 email
account: wan_yonghong17@yahoo.com.hk . If you give me positive signals,I
will initiate this process towards a conclusion Please observe this
instruction religiously. Please note again, I am a happily married woman
with two kids. I send you this mail not without a measure of fear as to
what the consequences might be, 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,
we should plan a meeting, soon.
I await your response.
Sincerely,
Wan Yonghong
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