Fake Ming Yang Cheng EMail

Scammer School

If a class for scammers exists, then whoever wrote this email should teach it. It stands with rare company at the pinnacle of scam emails. The author is obviously more familiar with western writing styles and, with only a few exceptions, pulls off the deception quite expertly. I had to re-read this one several times to find the errors. They just aren’t that easy to find.

But there they are. Hidden away tightly between the perfectly chosen and carefully placed words are grammatical, spelling and style errors that, once you see them, are like burning flashes on the road, guiding us safely through the muck on our internet superhighway. As we follow along, I’ve BOLDED the errors and inserted some comments…

MING YANG CHENG AND ASSOCIATES
SOLICITOR AND ADVOCATES
NO. 24, JALAN MELAKA RAYA 31,
TAMAN MELAKA RAYA
MALAYSIA
TEL: 0060 16 236 4527
Email: barr_yangchengxyz@yahoo.com.hk

I am Ming Yang Cheng, an attorney at law. A deceased client of mine, that shares (should be “who shares”) the same last name as yours (should be “you”), who here in after (should be “herinafter” or “hereafter”) shall be referred to as my client, died as the result of a heart-related condition on the (shouldn’t be a “the” here) 11 November 2001. His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the Gulf Air Flight Crashes in Persian Gulf near Bahrain Aired August 23, 2000 – 2:50 p.m. ET as reported on:http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0008/23/bn.08.html (This is a real story about real people. It’s included to give you a reference source to check, implying the validity of the entire email. Any other tragedy could have been used here, to the same effect. Also, did a doctor actually blame a heart condition on an emotional state of loss? Granted, that could make an existing condition more acute perhaps, but cause the condition itself? I doubt there’s any medical backup for that statement, and none is provided. It’s included in this email to appeal to our emotions. If there’s something that every person on this planet has in common, it’s our feelings of loss when we lose someone we love.)

I have contacted you to assist in distributing the money left behind by my client before it is confiscated or declared unserviceable (misspelled word) by the bank where this deposit valued (missing comma) at Seventeen million five hundred dollars( US$17.5 million dollars) (the rule would be to make all the first letters upper case or lower case, but not mixed together like that) is lodged. This bank has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin, or the account will be confiscated.

My proposition to you is to seek your consent to present you as the next-of-kin and beneficiary of my named client, since you have the same last name, so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you. Then we can share the amount on a mutually agreed-upon percentage. All legal documents to back up your claim as my client’s next-of-kin will be provided. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this transaction through.

Let me interrupt this joy-ride for a moment. Look at that last paragraph. “Honest cooperation”? It’s a popular enticement that I find over and over in lots of these scam emails. The idea presented here is that you’re so greedy and unethical that you’ll jump on the chance to make a percentage of 17 million dollars, regardless of what it takes. And the scammer uses that same idea to justify to himself and anyone who knows what he’s doing. Just think, there’s somebody somewhere who believes that if you’re so unethical as to agree to something this illegal, then you deserve to have your cash and identity stolen.

I agree with that guy. By agreeing to help out on a scam like this, you’d be showing yourself to be a scammer as well. Anyone who would want to get involved in this deserves what happens to them. Now, back to the email…

This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. (Unless you’re part of the current US administration, this can’t be true, the law still applies to you.) If this business proposition offends your moral values, do accept my apology. I must use this opportunity to implore you to exercise the utmost indulgence to keep this matter extraordinary (should be “extraordinarily”) confidential (gotta keep this quiet, or the scam will be revealed. Don’t forget, thousands, or millions of these identical emails are sent.), whatever your decision, while I await your prompt response. Please contact me at once to indicate your interest. I will like you to acknowledge the receipt of this e-mail as soon as possible via my private EMAIL 🙁 barr_yangchengxyz@yahoo.com.hk) (click that link and the scammer makes a profit. Why? Because you just validated your email address, which will now be sold for 40 cents or so. Oh, and prepare for the onslaught of spam and scam emails that replying to this email will generate. On another subject, why was the frowny face included? That’s one we’ll never know.) and treat with absolute confidentiality and sincerity. I look forward to your quick reply.

Best regards,
Ming Cheng
Attorney at Law
Tel: 0060 16 236 4527
Email:barr_yangchengxyz@yahoo.com.hk

NB: Please do not reply to this email, contact me directly with my personal email address stated here: (barr_yangchengxyz@yahoo.com.hk)

Like I said above, don’t click the link. And before I forget, see that “NB:” up there? It’s an abbreviation for the Latin term “Nota Bene”, which just means “pay particular attention to this”. I see that abbreviation alot in these emails. I guess they think it’s a common term among English speaking peoples. I personally know of only one person who ever used that term in conversation or otherwise, outside a classroom. If you see “NB”, well… then pay particular attention to that.
.

I am Jon, and I have very noted benny.

.

(edited)