Recent Feedback
I am being asked to pay a $50,000 fee for documents to go with funds $5.2 million bythe Malaysian tender committee to commence work in the country and have been assigned a lawyer Barrister Chang Dong. Is this normal practice by that government?
Has Barrister Chang Dong offered you a position and/or money in Malaysia? How did you first come into contact with this person?
No he has accepted a $10,000 retainer to act on our behalf with the Malaysian Tender Board Committee and sign documents in our stead as the Ministry I am informed requires the physical presence of the person or a lawyer in their stead. He performed these actions and a wire was issued for the contract payment of 5.2 million. We were then informed that the wired money was being held in New York pending our payment of the $50,000 to cover documents including one for money laundering etc. The explanation was that the wire was sent without someone noticing that we had not paid the fees which are only for first time contractors to Malaysia.
Sir/Madam,
We are looking forward to completing your payment procedures as scheduled.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Mrs Datuk Syed Salleh
Board Secretary.
Department of Public Procurement
Ministerial Tender Board
Federal Ministry of Rural and Regional Development
Putrajaya, Republic of Malaysia.
Telephone:+60- 17-2010672, +60-17-2011432.
I am unfamiliar with this facet of Malaysian law. I am going to opt out in order to permit other experts to review the question. You do not need to do anything else at the moment.
Hello,Different expert here. Stop! This is a scam. This is a "fake job" scam that has been prevalent online for a a while now. See here:http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/Telemarketing/Inbound/MinorIn/HowTo/employment.htmMalaysia is one of the capitals of such scams:http://malaysia.usembassy.gov/scams.htmlDO NOT send them any money. They are trying to take your $50,000 and run with it. This is a FAKE job offer.I hope this finds you well. Please continue the conversation to keep talking, or rate my answer when we are finished. Kindly rate my answer as one of the top three faces when you are ready – I do not get credit for my time with you if you choose the lower two. I work very hard to formulate an informative answer for you; please reciprocate my good faith. (You may always ask follow ups free after rating.)
Am curious as to what clued you in to this being a scam? I have the documents as well from the tender committee and it is difficult for a lay person to know these things.
Relist: Incomplete answer.I am trying to learn how I can spot this in future and what he saw in what I gave him to make him say this.
Hello,My sincere apologies for the wait.Tenders are run by the Prime Minister's Department...http://www.pmo.gov.my/?menu=tender&page=1912I know that this is a fake because I have literally seen the very same example before. Did they contact you via email? Or as a "job" offer? These scammers do this to get your money. That is not the way that the procedure works, and you have to contact the office yourself, first.So, this is a scam. Believe me.I hope this finds you well. Please continue the conversation to keep talking, or rate my answer when we are finished. Kindly rate my answer as one of the top three faces when you are ready – I do not get credit for my time with you if you choose the lower two. I work very hard to formulate an informative answer for you; please reciprocate my good faith. (You may always ask follow ups free after rating.)
Is there a way to verify if the lawyer, whose introduction letter I have given you is legitimate.My partner states he put in for the job and obtained and interview and was awarded the contract. I was supposedly contacted by the tender committee about the money process and the need for a lawyer to act for us. Once that was done I obtained transfer of the funds papers and then notified about the documents we needed to pay fees for. So they di not contact me out of the blue but am fearful we had fallen for a scam. If so who do you report these too?
Hello,You may contact the Malaysian Bar Ass'n...http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/contact/bar_council_members/...and confirm that there is no attorney by that name there.To report the scam, you may do so to the Malaysian Bar, as well as IC3:http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspxAgain, my apologies for the wait.I hope this finds you well. Please continue the conversation to keep talking, or rate my answer when we are finished. Kindly rate my answer as one of the top three faces when you are ready – I do not get credit for my time with you if you choose the lower two. I work very hard to formulate an informative answer for you; please reciprocate my good faith. (You may always ask follow ups free after rating.)
Experience: Private practice with focus on family, criminal, PI, consumer protection, and business consultation.