euro provider looking for usd provider

[happyfingers]

I have been approached for a forex/ppp deal. Point is I trust the person who has approached me. Looking on the internet I have found numerous other posts that are very similar to the proposition he's offering. I have also found disturbing references to fraud. I have copied a similar one below. I have access to people with resources but I really really don't want to refer if it is not legit. Does this sound legit? Not being from a forex background I have no idea. I guess my high net worth friends are grown ups and will do their own due diligence, but I want to know if these trades exist first before referring.

Thoughts?

WE ARE LOOKING FOR GENUINE EURO PROVIDERS (TOP 25 EUROPEAN BANKS). ONLY EURO PROVIDER DIRECT OR HIS MANDATE ARE INVITED. NO BROKER CHAINS. PLEASE PROVIDE CUSIP/ISIN NUMBERS FOR VERIFICATION. WE ARE DIRECT WITH TWO FED APPROVED USD TRADING PLATFORMS.

CURRENCY
EUROS

ISSUING BANK
TOP 25 EUROPEAN BANKS

AMOUNT
1 BILLION EUROS+

DISCOUNT
15/10 OR 20/15 FED APPROVED PLATFORM

PAYMENT
MT103/23

PURCHASE/DELIVERY
EUROCLEAR/DTC OR EUROCLEAR/DVP

TERM
1-10 YEARS

INSTRUMENTS
SLIGHLY SEASONED, SEASONED OR FRESH CUT MTN, BG, AND SBLC

PROCEDURES
1- Signed contract with IMFPA;
2- CIS (Client Information Sheet)
3- Letter of the Mandate authority,
4- Corporate Resolution
5- History of funds
6- Passport copy of the Euro Provider 140% size
7- Passport copy of the Euro Mandate 140% size
8- Non Solicitation Letter
9- Letter of Intent
10- About POF
a) B2B (MT103) private, it is required POF or TS (Tear Sheet) or Bank Statement or Bank Capability Letter for the first tranche at least 50 M. The USDP do not use MT799 swift messages & procedure for POF.
b) L2L the contract is FED standard and POF must be for 500M
c) Bluescreen no pof needed as usual just rwa letter

Please contact us via email for more information: blahblahblah@hotmail.com

[notorial dissent]

I’m sorry, and you got this email from where????

If your high net worth friends have nothing better to do with their money, they can send it to me, I can guarantee the same outcome, and I will get the fun of spending their money instead of some illiterate con artist.

The all caps, the incredibly bad grammar, and the fact that there is no such thing as “FED APPROVED USD TRADING PLATFORMS” would be the first hints that this was just another con.

[wserra]

What notorial said. Also, the source and contact are quite important, and are probably the easiest things to investigate. The contact email isn't really a hotmail addy, is it? I mean, I know so many legitimate forex traders who use hotmail . . . .

[Brandybuck]

You trust the person who approached you with an email like this? WTF?

[happyfingers]

Thank you so much for your replies, I am forewarned. When surfing around I came across the http://www.topix.com website which seems to have tons of these guys posting similar "offers". Here's one thread by example...
http://www.topix.com/forum/business/ban ... JUFTGDIP93

Do you think they are all backing each other up to create the appearance of legitimacy?

Cheers

H

[notorial dissent]

Does not the fact that all of the email adds posted are yahoo, hotmail, msn, or a couple of others equally bad, indicators of scam central here?? Very few legitimate businesses would use any of those email adds, and if they are dealing in large sums of money, they can afford their own .com address. If it looks like a ten day old fish, and smells like a ten day old fish, it is a pretty good bet that is exactly what it is. I'm always terribly impressed by someone claiming to be or representing a bank or financial operation using a hotmail address, a sure fire proof of veracity right there.

[nickdahammer]

Forgive my ignorance on the subject, I am a real estate guy, however I work with a mandate for some Eastern Europeans buying NPNs. He is direct with a USD provider that they use. He was trying to explain to me how valuable the connection was and how they work. It just doesn't seem real to me. Can someone please explain to me how this process works, why the fees are so high (why doesnt goldman do this?), how the provider is able to offer a discount and why can't someone walk into UBS or any international investment bank and execute an FX trade?
I am not opposed to making money; trust me. However I really want to understand this before I start trying to bring him business. Can someone please email me and answer my questions and explain this process to me?

[Moderator deletes email addy. Poster says he's "a real estate guy", but the email was to an alleged venture capital firm. Maybe nothing, but if someone wants to answer, let's keep it on the forum.]

[notorial dissent]

Oh great, now we’re getting 419's directly to the board, and not even good or at least creative ones at that.

The only factual statement you have made in this whole steaming pile is the following:

...my ignorance on the subject

You are NOT “a real estate guy”, you are at the very least a fraud, and at best an amateur at what you are attempting.

The rest of your message is 10 day old very ripe tripe, this was old the first time someone trotted it out, it hasn't improved with age, or ineptitude. Please take it, and yourself, and go elsewhere.

[nickdahammer]

Yes I am a real estate guy, I deal in the real world. Not this fantasy that there are these elite traders that trade trillions of dollars in currency at a 15% discount. The best part is paper pushing intermediaries can make millions! The guy who said he was a "mandate" was a complete phony. The whole process is so illogical and nonsensical.

I have spoken to real traders on the FX desks at Barclays and Goldman and they all agreed that this whole 'provider' business is just a scam. Alarm bells should have gone off when I was told that there were traders who trade enough currency to retire a better part of the US national debt on a weekly basis.

[bmielke]

Yes I am a real estate guy, I deal in the real world. Not this fantasy that there are these elite traders that trade trillions of dollars in currency at a 15% discount. The best part is paper pushing intermediaries can make millions! The guy who said he was a "mandate" was a complete phony. The whole process is so illogical and nonsensical.

I have spoken to real traders on the FX desks at Barclays and Goldman and they all agreed that this whole 'provider' business is just a scam. Alarm bells should have gone off when I was told that there were traders who trade enough currency to retire a better part of the US national debt on a weekly basis.

Welcome Back.

I fail to see why you felt the need to bring back a long dead topic, other than personal pride and rumor mongering was there a specific reason for this post?