419 scam: "Mr Leung Cheung"<nfo@hangsengbank.hk> Assistance Needed

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "to your nominated bank account" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "hundred thousand united state dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr Leung Cheung" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <leung.cheung101@rogers.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:03:06 +0100
Subject: Assistance Needed

Dear Friend,

Let me start by introducing myself. I am Mr. Leung Cheung director of operations of the Hang Seng Bank Ltd. Before the U.S and Iraqi war our client late Aziz Musa Omar Numan who was with the Iraqi forces and also big time businessman, made a numbered fixed deposit for 18 calendar months, with a value of Twenty Two millions Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars only in my branch. Upon maturity several notices was sent to him, even during the war which began in 2003. Again after the war another notification was sent and still no response came from him.

We later found out that our client and his family had been killed in an auto crash while on vacation in the United Kingdom.

Please endeavor to observe utmost discretion in all matters concerning this issue.

Once the funds have been transferred to your nominated bank account we shall then share in the ratio of 60% for me, 40% for you.

Should you be interested please send me your,

1,Full names,
2,private phone number,
3,current residential address,

Finally after that I shall provide you with more details of this operation.

Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Leung Cheung
e-mail: leung.cheung101@rogers.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam