A LETTER claiming to be from a Chinese government official has made its way to Huddersfield homes.

The letter, purporting to be from ‘Guiyang Intellectual Property Bureau’, asks the recipient to help the sender complete a multi-million dollar property deal.

It claims a British investor with the same surname as the recipient has died in a car crash before a major deal could be completed.

The letter says: “Since you are from the same country as the investor also with similar names, I need you to help complete this transaction by receiving the funds.”

The scammer says the recipient will receive $15.2m for helping.

The letter, which has been received in other parts of Britain, is believed to be an advanced fee fraud or ‘419’ scam.

Recipients are asked to pay money for fictional charges, such as ‘legal fees’ so a non-existent ‘prize’ can be released.

Bank and other personal details are often sold on to other criminals.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards advises that such unsolicited letters are most likely to be scams and should be binned.