419 scam: "Mr. Tang Chang" <mr.tangchang@voila.fr> Very Urgent Attention

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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:

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)
- "million united states 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "observe utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Tang Chang" <mr.tangchang@voila.fr>
Reply-To: mrttangchangg07@rediffmail.com
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 04:33:32 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Very Urgent Attention

FROM:        MR.TANG CHANG
                    BANK OF EAST ASIA.
                    SHOP NOS. 2-3,G/F, PRINCETON TOWER,
                    88 DES VOEUX ROAD WEST BRANCH
                    HONG KONG.

Dear Friend,

I am Mr.Tang Chang, Chief accountant and credit officer of the Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong and I have an urgent and very confidential business proposition for you that would be of immense benefit to both of us if handled with extreme confidentiality. It's concerning Mrs Nina Wang, an estate developer and the richest woman in Hong Kong,sometime in October 6th 2004 she made a (Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at $16,000,000.000 (Sixteen Million United States Dollars only) in my branch, l was her personal account supervisor and she kept her certificate of deposit in our bank under my custody, but suddenly we got the news that Mrs Nina Wang was dead of cancer on April 3rd, 2007 and since then no member of her family has come forward to claim her funds till date, I had sent a routine notification to her address but got no reply and after l made my research,i discovered the funds was deposited by her without informing anyone of her
immediate family.

So in order to avert a negative development, i will like to seek for your permission and assistance as a foreigner to stand as the next of kin and beneficiary to Mrs. Nina Wang so that the fruits of this old woman's labour will not be used for financing weapons of mass destruction if reverted back to the government coffers. The money will be paid into your account after all necessary documents and arrangement has been taken care of by me, here in Hong Kong for us to share in the ratio of 60% for me and 30% for you,then 10% shall be set aside for any Expenses that might be Incurred in the course of this transaction.

I wish to state categorically that there is no risk involved at all as all the paperwork for this transaction shall be handled by my attorney and with my position as the credit officer of the bank and Late Mrs Nina Wang's personal accountant, l guarantee you the successful execution of this transaction without any hitch now or thereafter.

If you are interested, please reply immediately so l can furnished you with more information on how to preparing all necessary documents for the transaction to go through without any further delay.

Upon your response, I shall provide you with more details that will help you understand this transaction much more better and i would want you to observe utmost confidentiality as we go about this transaction until all funds have been successfully transferred and disbursed between us accordingly as specified above,hopefully in about 7 working days,and be rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall be requiring your assistance to invest my share in a lucrative venture in your country.

For more confirmation about Mrs Nina Wang, click the link below.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6524861.stm
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/04/news/obits.php
Awaiting your urgent reply.

Regards
Mr.Tang Chang.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam