They say there’s a sucker born every minute, however, I’m not one of them.
I received the following email:
Marion, thanks for your response to my email. I am a Portfolio Manager with a reputable Private Trust Company in Mauritius and a custodian to the Late David Chard certificate of deposit (CD). David Chard was a long distant relative of yours who immigrated to Mauritius when he was a young man. Meanwhile, you can confirm my credentials through the official www.glscm.net or E-mail info@glscm.net
Since the death of my late client David Chard, I have made several inquiries to your embassy to locate any of my customers’ extended relatives and this has also proved unsuccessful because he had no immediate family members. After these several unsuccessful attempts to locate any member of his birth family all to no avail.
I contacted you through this medium due to the urgent nature of this transfer, be advised that David Chard died without a will & last testament and no one has ever come forward to claim his fund. It was on a tree research from ancestry family tree www.ancestry.com I got your contact in search of Late David Chard’s as long distant cousin relative/family member and with my assistance, I guarantee that this transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. What I need is for you to come forward and claim David Chard’s estate and the money he left in his account ($625,000), if not the Treasury will confiscate the money in a couple of weeks.
I have in my possession the documentation you will need to collect the letter of Administration in your name and the money will be transferred to any account of your choice. After the transfer to you, I am entitled to 10% of the estate funds transferred to your account as my professional fee.
If you agree to my terms, I will furnish you with the proof of deposit (CD) which you will send to the Trust Company administration department notifying them that you are the next of kin to the deceased hence they should approve and release the entire funds to you as required by law. Acknowledge the receipt of this email and your readiness to proceed with the transfer. Your telephone number is necessary for further discussion and guidelines if you are willing to assist.
Thanks
Ron
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First off, without going any further, does anyone immediately spot anything fishy?
What official business, and in this case a bank/loan institution, sends an email without the proper identification? “Thanks, Ron”? Ron who? No last name? Truly? And how about further identification such as a title, address, phone number, etc. Also, the supposed representative uses this email address: chriskelvin780@gmail.com. I see, so Ron, this important businessman is Chris Kelvin and uses a Gmail account?
I looked up the website and obtained more laughter from this supposed institution. Their ABOUT page copied word for word information regarding Mauritius from another site. Who in the world is going to post geographical information and general law info as their introduction to the public?
I wrote back to Ron and informed him that:
- #1 Having a website is not official proof of anything. Anyone can create a website.
- #2 I looked up the IP address and the domain name and discovered that he/they reside in Nigeria. Furthermore, the certificate shows that the website/domain was established in May 2022. Kind of blows away the idea of a long-established corporation.
- #3 I looked up official banks/institutions of Mauritius and surprise, nowhere did Goodlands Savings and Loan appear on any lists.
- #4 Look at the website, there’s no address listed anywhere. Oh certainly, there’s a google map that points to a place that happens to be on Bank St. And if you zoom in on the marker, it shows a parking lot. Oh wait, maybe the building is underground. Yes, yes, that must be it.
Not to mention that I happen to have been the family historian for decades and am very familiar with the Chard family tree. I’m here to tell you that David is very much alive and kicking and still resides in the US. He isn’t a long lost relative without immediate family members.
So, if you get an email from “Ron”, you can tell him that Marion sent you. No last name needed! 😎
