Nigerian Letter: HK Version

It happens every now and then, and I usually ignore it completely.  I get another version of "The Nigerian Letter" (the "419" scam) inviting me to give them sufficient information for them to find, and raid, my bank account.

Here's the full text of the letter, FYI:

Attention: Respondent,

I am currently attempting to acquaint myself with your family history  
in order to make you the heir suitable to inherit the estate of our
customer( now deceased) because you bear the same last name with our
late customer. I want you to partner with me and receive this fund in
your account.

During the course of our auditing, I discovered a floating fund
($11.5m) in an account opened in the bank in 1999 and since then
nobody has operated on this account that belongs to this our late
Customer who hailed From your country hereinafter referred to as our
customer who
worked as contractor with Chevron/Texaco an oil magnate in my country
and was killed as a result of an attack from Niger Delta Militants.

Hence, we are currently handling a high valued financial portfolio of  
our late customer who clearly shares your last name and it was
recommended that I contact you. In looking for a suitable heir
apparent to our late customer, I am specifically interested in the
following information:

1. Your full names (no initials pls.)
2. Your Contact address.
3. Your Telephone and Fax number.
4. Your Date of Birth:
5. Your Current Occupation.

Could you please send me the information I have requested, along with  
any other information about you or your family history that might be
relevant? I need to make an important decision fairly soon about the  
administration of his estate on intestacy, so please send me the
information at your first opportunity today. Contact us for more
detailed information about this case.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Mr. Chris David.

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This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.

Essentially, this complete stranger expects me to provide sufficient information that he can at least made a 'good effort' to discover my Social Security Number.  That, with my full legal name and current address,  along with my DOB, might be sufficient to access my SSN account along with any other 'fiduciary' accounts I have.

I know you can't easily read the screen-shot of the original email, so here's the information about the sender:

SENT BY:  "Audit / Account Department"
REPLY TO:hrisdavide110@yahoo.com.hk

The first thing to notice (and a give-away that it's bogus, if you didn't already notice) is that the reply email address isn't the same as the "from" email address.

Sigh.

Also, email does not directly cite either my name or my email address ... another sign that it's a 'mass email'.  Most of the information requested does not seem necessary.  The email address to which the prospectus was sent does not include my family name, and never has, so the author couldn't know MY last name.  How would he have matched me to the supposed deceased relative?

It's all just bogus, free-lance larceny, and we all benefit from any pressure we can apply to these predatory bastards.

HOW TO COMBAT INTERNET FRAUD:

I know I've talked about this before, here.  In accordance with my "Bad Example" life experiences, I  once again present  this warning that if you EVER get an email like this, do what I did: forward it to the FBI.   Their "Common Fraud Schemes" website will help you to find the best way to do that.  Look under the sub-heading:

Tips for Avoiding Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud:

 Just find the link to "... contact your nearest FBI office   ... " and get the email address.

Don't delay, do it today!

If nothing else, you may get an email from the FBI, and won't THAT be exciting!


NOTE:  If you're one of those people whose priority is to "fly low", you may choose not to report the email.  On the other hand, if you are really "maintaining a low internet profile", you probably won't receive one of these emails, anyway.