14 DAY TRIAL // The name of Chinese energy company China Shenhua Energy Company Limited (CSEC) is being utilized by fraudsters in an advance fee scam.
The scammy email that landed in our inboxes, apparently coming from a legitimate China Shenhua Energy Company Limited address, reads something like this:
“We at the China Shenhua Energy Company Limited global office like to officially congratulate you for the position you emerged in the draw that was just held by our company which featured you as the Second Place Winner.
Our company holds promotion each year just to promote our global publicity and reputations as we plan to exploit more corners of the World with our highly valued product lines. This promotion is just one of the various ways we are presently using to achieve this global vision of ours.
Your email address with MICRO ID: CSEC-W002-HTY2-02FE was luckily drawn to be this year's Second Place Winner of a brand new BMW X6 2013 updated model: which is worth $42,505 USD and cash prize of $1.5 Million United State Dollars. This money and gift we believe will enable you make some impact in the society and possibly invest in our company.”
Unlike many other scams, China Shenhua Energy Company Limited is a real company. However, the organization doesn’t have anything to do with this bogus promotion.
The email’s header contains partly accurate contact information, including the company’s official website. However, victims are instructed to reply to one Mr. Li Jun Chan, whose email address is [email protected].
The Yahoo email address is a clear indicator that this is nothing but a scam.
Victims are requested to contact Mr. Li Jun Chan and provide their name, address, phone number, age, gender and occupation.
Those who respond to these bogus emails are likely asked to hand over some money that’s allegedly needed for transaction fees.
To avoid raising too much suspicion, the crooks inform potential victims that they will have to place the company’s logo on the car they’ve just won for a period of 6 months.
Beware of such emails. If they land in your inbox, simply delete them. If you’re a victim of this scheme, contact authorities immediately.