Scam: Ref:National Oil Corporation Business Opportunity

Complete Email

from: Procurement Supervisor <mlomba@cbholdings.mw>
reply-to: mbernard@asia.com
to:
subject: Ref:National Oil Corporation Business Opportunity
mailed-by: cbholdings.mw
signed-by: cbholdings.mw

Email Body

Good day,

I greet you with warm regards. I work for Malaysian Oil Refinery Sdn Bhd as a procurement officer, Malaysia Oil Refinery Sdn Bhd is an Oil Refining Company located in South East Asia.

On my desk is a mandate to arrange for a Crude Oil purchase from the National Oil Corporation of Libya, from the State of Libya for up to 2,000,000 (2 Million) barrels on monthly bases for 12 calendar months.

The reason for my reaching out to you is because I am in the process of establishing a broker / mediator or a middle-man structure to mediate between the 2 parties involved (our Company and the Company in Libya) before the contract is signed.

You may be wondering why I can't do it myself. The honest fact is that as an employee working for this company, it is against our company's operational ethics / policy for an employee to be involved or profit in any financial dealings between our Company and another company, hence I am looking for a trustworthy person outside my work circle in order to maintain a discreet profile.

I wish to extend this partnership to you to establish a broker /agent or a middle man structure with you while I work from the background to guide you. Our company pays $ 3 per barrel of Crude Oil as a commission / brokerage amount, if the target is 2 Million barrels a month, we stand to share USD$ 6 Million every month for a span of 12 months .

Contact me if you are interested in this deal, so that I can give you clearer details of this operation. I can be reached directly through my email address ( mbernard@asia.com )

Michael Bernard
Procurement Supervisor
Malaysian Oil Refinery Sdn Bhd

Red Flags

The email received contains several red flags that strongly indicate it is a scam or phishing attempt. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the issues:

1. Suspicious Email Domain

• Sender Email: The sender’s email, mlomba@cbholdings.mw, does not match the company they claim to represent (Malaysian Oil Refinery Sdn Bhd). Instead, it uses the domain cbholdings.mw, which is not linked to any known Malaysian oil company. The .mw domain is associated with Malawi, raising immediate concerns about the legitimacy of the email.
• Reply-to Address Mismatch: The reply-to address, mbernard@asia.com, is different from the sender’s email and uses a free, unprofessional domain (asia.com). Legitimate companies rarely use free email services for official business dealings, especially involving such large transactions.

2. Generic and Unprofessional Content

• No Personalized Greeting: The email is not addressed to you by name or company, indicating it could be part of a mass-sent email designed to target multiple recipients.
• Generic Company Name: "Malaysian Oil Refinery Sdn Bhd" is a generic-sounding name and may not represent a real or well-known entity. Legitimate businesses typically have a strong online presence, but there is no clear reference to this company online.
• No Company Website or Contact Information: The email does not provide an official company website, phone number, or physical address—common features in legitimate business correspondence.

3. Unusual Business Proposal

• Unsolicited Offer: The email offers a large-scale opportunity (up to $6 million in monthly commissions) without any prior relationship or inquiry from your side, which is suspicious.
• Too Good to Be True: Offering to share millions of dollars in commission from a crude oil transaction with a complete stranger is highly unusual. Such high-value deals are rarely conducted through unsolicited emails.
• Ethics Violation Explanation: The sender claims they cannot personally benefit due to "operational ethics/policy," which is a typical excuse used in fraudulent schemes to explain why they are reaching out to a third party.

4. Vague and Unrealistic Terms

• No Clear Details: The email mentions a broker/mediator role but provides no concrete steps or business proposal details.
• Massive Scale with Minimal Vetting: A deal involving 2 million barrels of crude oil per month for 12 months (24 million barrels total) would require extensive due diligence, contracts, and legal compliance—none of which are mentioned.
• Unclear Why You Were Chosen: There’s no explanation as to why you, specifically, were chosen for this deal, which is a red flag for a potential scam.

5. Grammatical and Stylistic Issues

• Language Errors: The email contains awkward phrasing and errors, such as "on monthly bases" instead of "on a monthly basis" and "I wish to extend this partnership to you to establish a broker /agent or a middle man structure." Legitimate business communications are usually carefully written and proofread.
• Unprofessional Formatting: The email is poorly formatted, lacks company branding, and doesn’t follow standard business email conventions (e.g., there’s no official signature or company letterhead).

6. Untraceable Identity

• Michael Bernard: A search for "Michael Bernard" in connection with "Malaysian Oil Refinery Sdn Bhd" does not yield any credible results. Scammers often use common names to avoid detection.
• Discreet and Secretive: The emphasis on discretion and maintaining a "discreet profile" is another common tactic in fraudulent schemes, encouraging the recipient not to verify the information with the actual companies involved.

7. Potential Scam Indicators

• Advance Fee Scam: This email bears hallmarks of an "advance fee fraud" scam, where the target is lured into a deal with promises of huge payouts, but later asked to make payments (e.g., for legal fees or documentation) before receiving anything in return.
• Phishing: The email may also be an attempt to collect personal information or lead to further communications designed to extract sensitive information or money from the recipient.

Recommendations:

1. Do Not Respond: Avoid replying to this email. Responding can lead to further attempts to scam you.
2. Do Not Provide Any Personal Information: Never share any personal or financial information with unknown individuals or suspicious contacts.
3. Verify Independently: If you feel this email could be legitimate (which is unlikely), contact the actual companies involved (ADNOC and Malaysian Oil Refinery) through their official channels to verify the details. Do not use any contact information provided in the email.
4. Report the Email: Mark the email as spam or phishing through your email client and report it to your IT department if necessary.
5. Delete the Email: After taking the necessary precautions, delete the email from your inbox to avoid further risks.

Conclusion:

This email contains multiple signs of a potential scam, including mismatched email addresses, vague and unrealistic business proposals, and a lack of professional details. It is highly advisable to ignore and delete this email to protect yourself from potential fraud or phishing attempts.