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New 419 scam tactic

Well, it's not so new, but this scammer has gone back to using the old postal service...

Definition of 419 scam from Wikipedia here.

When I returned home from work today, there was a letter from Spain claiming to be from a barrister there addressed to a (now ex) friend who I stupidly allowed to use my home address for a while (long story, and not really relevant here).

It's the usual "I've got the estate of a dead client with a similar surname to you who had lots of money and I want you to help me get the money out of the country in return for a lot of upfront fees" begging letter that normally goes by email.

I'll scan it at work tomorrow and post it on this thread (my scanner's not readily available at the moment).

Comments

  • peter_the_piper
    peter_the_piper Posts: 30,269 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Mobile phone camera could substitute.
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
  • MothballsWallet
    MothballsWallet Posts: 15,959 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Since I don't have a mobile phone with a camera, I'll have to stick my original plan (we've got a multifunction copier / scanner / fax in the office anyway) and this is the result:

    419letter.jpg
  • paddyrg
    paddyrg Posts: 13,543 Forumite
    Yeah, I got a belter by post, similar to this but different formatting. Before knowing this as '419' they were often called 'Spanish Prisoner' scams - meaning that post from Spain has long been suspect for some reason!!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Prisoner in fact!
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