I was contacted by Marianna Pantiledou Neophytou to from the Helenic Bank via Linkedin to inform me that a long lost relative of mine has passed away and as I am the only relative I am inheriting their investment.
Now the moment they said that they will take care of the process and that it is "legal" the alarm bells range loud and clear- was entertaining at first. Everything about this person checked out, online presence, profile on the bank website as well as linkedin however seeing as I have a mother and a father the fact that I am the only relative left standing indicated loudly its a scam. Please see the mail they sent me below and watch out for this:
Hello
Thanks for accepting my connection and i know this will come as a surprise to you but let me formally introduce myself to you. I am Ms.Marianna Pantiledou Neophytou the Board of Directors at Hellenic Bank Ltd. I am contacting you concerning an abandoned sum of €22.5m. In June 2005, A customer called Luis Coetzee a foreign contractor with Royal Dutch Plc came to our bank for business discussions and investment, As the officer in charge of his transaction then, I encouraged him to consider various growth of funds with prime ratings. Then he invested €19.5m only. Based on my advice, we were able to spin the initial deposit with profit and interest to €22.5m. After few months; my bank (Hellenic Bank) sent several notice to him without response and unfortunately, my client died in a car crash along with his nuclear family in France while on sabbatical in the summer of 2008, may their soul rest in peace. He died without leaving a Will and several efforts were made to find his extended family through your embassy without success. Because of the sensitive nature of private banking, most customers don't nominate next of kin in their investment, also usually in most cases leave their WILLS in our care, in this case; our now deceased client died in-testate.
It is quite clear now that our dear client died with no known or identifiable family member. According to practice, the Private banking sector will by the middle of next year broadcast a request for statement of claim to Hellenic Bank Ltd, failing to receive viable claims they will probably revert the deposit to the Management of Hellenic Bank Ltd. This will result the money entering the Hellenic Bank accounting system and the portfolio will be out of my hands and out of the private banking division. What bothers me most is that according to the laws of my country at the expiration of Ten years the funds will revert to the ownership of the Cyprus Government if nobody applies to claim the funds.
Now, I am prepared to give the necessary details to you as the closest surviving relation of our deceased customer (Luis Coetzee). I am also proposing that after a successful execution of the business deal, the funds will be shared in the ratio 50/50. You will get fifty percent and I will be entitled to 50 percent as the initiator of the deal. You know that I must have done my home work already before contacting you. Although the project is capital intensive, I know I will be able to pull it through following proper banking and legal channels with your assistance at your end. I will tidy up the legal aspect with the assistance of a lawyer who will prepare all the documents that will be needed to transfer the money from Cyprus to your country. Once more, I ask that if you find no interest in this project that you should discard this mail and forget I ever contacted you, I ask that you do not be vindictive and destructive; do not destroy my career. An opportunity like this only comes once in a lifetime. I am a family woman and this is an opportunity for me to give my family the best in life. I would want you to think about this and let me know your decision. If you give me a positive response, I will give you the relevant INFORMATION for the successful transfer of these funds and we both enjoy it in peace.
I was contacted over my professional LinkedIn profile by someone who claims to be Irena A Georgiadou, Board Member of Hellenic Bank in Cyprus. The profile looks real, but other things don't check out and point to people in Nigeria. Just posting this, so it can be found on Google when searching for this name. Hope it will prevent this scam from working, as those guys keep getting better and better at what they do!
Hellenic Bank Reviews
I was contacted by Marianna Pantiledou Neophytou to from the Helenic Bank via Linkedin to inform me that a long lost relative of mine has passed away and as I am the only relative I am inheriting their investment.
Now the moment they said that they will take care of the process and that it is "legal" the alarm bells range loud and clear- was entertaining at first. Everything about this person checked out, online presence, profile on the bank website as well as linkedin however seeing as I have a mother and a father the fact that I am the only relative left standing indicated loudly its a scam. Please see the mail they sent me below and watch out for this:
Hello
Thanks for accepting my connection and i know this will come as a surprise to you but let me formally introduce myself to you. I am Ms.Marianna Pantiledou Neophytou the Board of Directors at Hellenic Bank Ltd. I am contacting you concerning an abandoned sum of €22.5m. In June 2005, A customer called Luis Coetzee a foreign contractor with Royal Dutch Plc came to our bank for business discussions and investment, As the officer in charge of his transaction then, I encouraged him to consider various growth of funds with prime ratings. Then he invested €19.5m only. Based on my advice, we were able to spin the initial deposit with profit and interest to €22.5m. After few months; my bank (Hellenic Bank) sent several notice to him without response and unfortunately, my client died in a car crash along with his nuclear family in France while on sabbatical in the summer of 2008, may their soul rest in peace. He died without leaving a Will and several efforts were made to find his extended family through your embassy without success. Because of the sensitive nature of private banking, most customers don't nominate next of kin in their investment, also usually in most cases leave their WILLS in our care, in this case; our now deceased client died in-testate.
It is quite clear now that our dear client died with no known or identifiable family member. According to practice, the Private banking sector will by the middle of next year broadcast a request for statement of claim to Hellenic Bank Ltd, failing to receive viable claims they will probably revert the deposit to the Management of Hellenic Bank Ltd. This will result the money entering the Hellenic Bank accounting system and the portfolio will be out of my hands and out of the private banking division. What bothers me most is that according to the laws of my country at the expiration of Ten years the funds will revert to the ownership of the Cyprus Government if nobody applies to claim the funds.
Now, I am prepared to give the necessary details to you as the closest surviving relation of our deceased customer (Luis Coetzee). I am also proposing that after a successful execution of the business deal, the funds will be shared in the ratio 50/50. You will get fifty percent and I will be entitled to 50 percent as the initiator of the deal. You know that I must have done my home work already before contacting you. Although the project is capital intensive, I know I will be able to pull it through following proper banking and legal channels with your assistance at your end. I will tidy up the legal aspect with the assistance of a lawyer who will prepare all the documents that will be needed to transfer the money from Cyprus to your country. Once more, I ask that if you find no interest in this project that you should discard this mail and forget I ever contacted you, I ask that you do not be vindictive and destructive; do not destroy my career. An opportunity like this only comes once in a lifetime. I am a family woman and this is an opportunity for me to give my family the best in life. I would want you to think about this and let me know your decision. If you give me a positive response, I will give you the relevant INFORMATION for the successful transfer of these funds and we both enjoy it in peace.
I was contacted over my professional LinkedIn profile by someone who claims to be Irena A Georgiadou, Board Member of Hellenic Bank in Cyprus. The profile looks real, but other things don't check out and point to people in Nigeria. Just posting this, so it can be found on Google when searching for this name. Hope it will prevent this scam from working, as those guys keep getting better and better at what they do!