There is a famous (infamous) email scam whereby a deposed Nigerian minister or one of their relatives has a stack of cash that he needs to transfer via someone's bank account. As with any offer received via email you need to check the facts. Snopes.com and Scambusters.org are two sources of checking up these emails. In fact, if you get any email that asks you to pass it on, odds are it is a hoax. To check go to Google and type "email hoax xxxx" replacing the xxxx with some unique bits from the email.
Anyway, today I received an email from a "parkinson yew", supposedly a lawyer who was acting for an "Andrew Bruggeman" whose relatives all died in some plane crash. He has 19 million dollars to give to his next of kin. If I wanted to act as the next of kin, this friendly chap would organise everything and we could share the proceeds.
Keys to knowing this is a con:
1. His email is barrister_yew@hotmail.com. Real professionals do not use a hotmail account as their email address.
2. He is offering me money for nothing.
3. A search for "email hoax next of kin" finds lots of other examples such as the Ethiopian Airline Letter hoax. This is obviously just a variation of the theme.
If you get an email offering something for nothing, it is time to be wary. Also, is this the price you would be willing to be paid to sell your honour? Lie about your family ties to get a possible share of the money?
The solution to this email? Delete it and get on with real life.
Anyway, today I received an email from a "parkinson yew", supposedly a lawyer who was acting for an "Andrew Bruggeman" whose relatives all died in some plane crash. He has 19 million dollars to give to his next of kin. If I wanted to act as the next of kin, this friendly chap would organise everything and we could share the proceeds.
Keys to knowing this is a con:
1. His email is barrister_yew@hotmail.com. Real professionals do not use a hotmail account as their email address.
2. He is offering me money for nothing.
3. A search for "email hoax next of kin" finds lots of other examples such as the Ethiopian Airline Letter hoax. This is obviously just a variation of the theme.
If you get an email offering something for nothing, it is time to be wary. Also, is this the price you would be willing to be paid to sell your honour? Lie about your family ties to get a possible share of the money?
The solution to this email? Delete it and get on with real life.
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