A couple of days ago, I received an e-mail from a supposed attorney based in the United Kingdom, who wanted me to help him with a rather large sum of money which he was holding for a recently deceased client. You all know the scam... claim to be a "next of kin" and I'll split the money with you. All I need is you banking information.....
This e-mail was sent to a Yahoo address I set up for my 12 year old nephew John, so he could have his own account on the TGC forums.
Anyway, I had seen before where people play along with these scams, and since this e-mail address is almost never used and no linger important, I thought I would try it too. I thought I would post our conversation so far, and get your input for possible responses to the scammer. Here is the conversation thus far:
Quote: "11:44 AM 11/24/2007
Greetings,
I am Barr. Charles Brown, a Canadian attorney based in Manchester,
United Kingdom and the personal attorney to Late Mr. Mark Michelle, a
French National. Late Mr. Mark Michelle until his untimely death was a
private oil consultant/contractor with the British Petroleum Company,
hereinafter shall be referred to as my client.
On the 3rd day of January 2004, my client and his wife along with
their three children were among the victims of Boeing 737 Egyptian
Airliner that crashed into the Red Sea. You can read more about the
crash by visiting this website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3365769.stm
Presently, the deceased has a deposit valued at
US$18,000,000.00(Eighteen Million United States Dollars) and the bank
has issued me an official notification to provide his next of kin or
beneficiary. Since I could not locate any of my late client’s
relatives for over three (3) years now, I am seeking your consent to
present you as the next of kin/beneficiary to the deceased so that the
proceeds of this account would be released to you.
I have worked out plan for achieving my aim of appointing a next of
kin as well as transferring the money abroad for us to share in the
ratio of 50% for me, 35% for you, and we shall collectively donate 10%
to any Charity organization, while 5% will be set aside for any
incurable expenses both local and international.
The money transfer paperwork will include a Certificate of origin so
that the receiving bank does not ask questions. The paperwork will
also include proper certificate that the fund being transferred is
from non-criminal sources.
The transaction is guaranteed to succeed without any problem. All I
need is your trust and confidence. Provide me with these information:
(1) Your phone and fax numbers.
(2) Your complete location address.
As soon as I hear from you, I shall provide you with further
clarifications that you may need to know.
I look forward to receiving your response.
Regards,
Barr. Charles Brown"
Quote: "REPLY 1:30 PM 11/25/2007
Dear Barr. Charles Brown,
Thank you for your consideration and contacting me. Your proposal is very interesting and I would be willing to assist you with the transfer for the consideration of 35% as you stated.
As you can imagine, I am concerned about the legality of this venture and would not want to place myself, and therefore my family, in any danger. Would you please expound on the venture so that I may know the full scope and procedures before I supply you with any of my information. Please also explain why you need my full address, as I am a little worried about giving that to someone I do not know.
I look forward to your next contact,
John.
By the way, please excuse my ignorance. What does Barr. stand for?"
Quote: "11:16 AM 11/27/2007
Hello John,
How are you doing today? I really appreciated your efforts in reading the message. The e-mail I sent was meant for you alone. I need your cooperation in this transaction.
In reference to your question about the prefix in my name "Barr". It stands for Barrister. A name given to a Legal Practitioner here in United Kingdom and any Common Wealth Nation. It is an equivalent to "Dr.", given to Medical Practitioner.
In furtherance to answering your question, this transaction is legal and absolutely no risk attached. This is a very legal business that I am very sure of its success taking into cognizance my position as the late depositor's attorney and my wealth of experiences as an attorney. It is absolutely risk free. Do not be afraid of getting yourself into problem because I have everything under my control. All the processes we are going to follow to achieve this transfer into your account will be legal and legitimate. All that I require from you is your complete understanding, support and encouragement so that we can conclude this business without any problem.
The part I want you to play in this transaction is to provide me with the avenue, by which I would transfer the fund left by my late client in a bank here in Manchester into your account as the beneficiary.
For my proper introduction, I am a 63-year-old Canadian Attorney based in Manchester, United Kingdom. I have practiced for over three decades as an Attorney. My wife's name is Alicia and we have three children, Eric, Joshua and Sukhedo. I hope you are a business minded person, to be entrusted with such a huge sum of money, since I would not like to do this business with a joker.
Please, I need to receive an assurance from you that when this money is transferred to your account as the beneficiary of my late client that you would not run away with it. I would equally want you to tell me a little more about yourself so that I would know exactly about the person I am actually entering into a business relationship with.
I initiated this present correspondence with you through the assistance of my Chambers' secretary who I delegated because of her vast knowledge in the Internet to help me look for a trusted and business minded person who could receive a huge sum of money in trust. Though I did not divulge the full details of this business to her because of my desire to maintain the confidentiality of this business. No other person except you and me has the knowledge of this transaction or our present correspondence.
One thing is very clear with this business. Nobody will ever know that you are not the beneficiary of late Mr. Mark Michelle unless if you do not keep everything about this business as a top secret. Do not at anytime tell anybody about this business so that we
complete this transaction successfully.
We have about 60 days left to start any claim we may be making before the bank where this money was lodged. I am very sure that once we start making our presentation before the bank we can successfully claim this money within some few days. I want you to have confidence about the success of this business. I must get this money out from this bank into your account within the shortest possible time once you give me your full cooperation.
It is equally worthwhile for you to know that it does not really matter whether you are related to Late Mr. Mark Michelle or not, what that matters most is your sincerity and understanding to enable us accomplish this transaction successfully. This we can achieve through your total support and encouragement instead of having the funds confiscated by the bank where this money was lodged as they have issued me an official notification in this regards.
Let me use this opportunity once again to let you know that this transaction is going to be executed under the provisions of the British Inheritance Act and it is 100% risk free.
Please feel free to give me a phone call at all time with this number +44 702 403 1646.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Mr. Charles Brown"
Best.
I'm sorry, my answers are limited. You must ask the right question.
