Wednesday 17 September 2008

The Day I lost 15.2 Million Dollars

On Monday I was checking my email and amazingly I get very little spam so I was surprised to see an unfamiliar name in my inbox. Intrigued I opened the email and read intently.

You'll find my thoughts in italics and brackets.

From: Law***** CHAMBERS
To: carolsiswick@yahoo.co.uk
Sent: Monday, 15 September, 2008 21:19:33
Subject: Attn:


LAW***** FOO (Seriously, does anyone with the surname Foo sound trustworthy? I'll answer that, NO!) & ASSOCIATE SOLICITORS & LEGAL PRACTITIONER

Dear Carol Siswick,

I have an obscure (good choice of word Mr Foo) business interest to share with you. It's understandable that you might be a little apprehensive (Oh no, not at all, it's perfectly normal to get random emails from legal folks after all) because you do not know me (fair point). I am Barrister Law***** Foo (Foo? May I suggest a name change. I think you'd be taken more seriously in legal circles with a less amusing name), a solicitor at law and personal attorney to my late client Mr. Raymond A. Siswick (who I have never heard of and doubt exists), a nationality of your country, He died in March 2005 as a result of heart condition.

My deceased client made some fixed deposit valued 15.2million United States Dollars (Woohoo!), in a finance firm here in Malaysia (So likely that a British man would deposit 15.2 million dollars and in Malaysia of all places). Upon maturity legal responsibilities, I have been given deadline mandate by the Bank Management to provide the next of kin and beneficiary to the fund hence failure to that (Oh, well that is obviously me then being that I have been a Siswick for five years and only by marriage), the fund will be confiscated and declared unserviceable by the Bank (now wouldn't that be a tragedy?). Regards to this, I have exhaustively made efforts to locate the next of kin/beneficiary, or any relative of my deceased client (and you assume email the best way to achieve that? May I suggest Facebook? You''ll find plenty of Siswick's there. Though Rob did appreciate his email from you also), which was not successful (May I suggest that is because your 'client' is a figment of your imagination?). My purpose of contacting you (is to no doubt scam me out of my life savings which would amount to about £4.63 a present) is to seek your consent and to present you to the bank as the next of kin/beneficiary of my late client's fund since you have the same last name and country origin.

MODALITIES:
I want you to know that I have had everything planned out (Oh I am sure you have Mr Foo) so that we shall come Out (I don't believe that letter O needed to be a capital) successfully. I will prepare you with the necessary document that will back you up as the next of kin/beneficiary to the fund inter alia that will enable onward transfer to your local account (you mean the account you're hoping to withdraw my life savings from?) in your country. We are going to adopt a legalized (is that fancy talk for fraud?) method in the whole matter that will protect you from any infraction of the law (somehow I don't believe you). There is a reward for this project (tempt me, tempt me)and it is a task worth undertaking.

However, if the proposal does not conform to your ethics, please do accept my sincere apologies. If on the contrary, could you kindly open a correspondence with me, after which I shall furnish you with more information on this transaction.

Please write me direct at l.l******88@yahoo.com.

Best Regards,

Barr. Lawrence Foo
(Attorney at Law) Esq.

And that is how I sadly lost 15.2 Million Dollars. But managed to avoid having my bank account assaulted by a naughty man who hoped I'd be greedy/stupid enough to fall for this whole spiel.

Oh and Mr Foo may I recommend you add a letter L to your name. I think the surname Fool is far more fitting.

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27 lovely comments:

Clare said...

This is crazy, people fall for this! lol

Anonymous said...

I hear so much about this types of emails. I have never received one myself. Foo is a random name. Why not Smith?

Science PhD Mom said...

What a silly email!! Sadly though it only takes one fool for it to be profitable for them!

3boys247 said...

Carol,
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I am sure the 15.2 million would have come in handy. Never fear, I am sure there will be more dead relatives popping up in your emailbox again soon.

And you are right, Mr. Foo should and an L to the end of that name.

Wendi said...

I love this and your witty little humor!
Thanks for sharing.
Let me share with you something I recently discovered.
I did a post on this very subject.
I used the exact name and number of the author of said email.
Oh the flood gates opened.
I was getting more hits than I had ever hoped for.
But mostly from Nigeria and Uraguay.
Not. good.
I went back and changed a few letters in his name and completely changed his addy. If you haven't already...you may want to. I wouldn't want you to get as much traffic as the bra post!

Susan said...

A fool indeed! The lengths those people will go through to swindle people.
Unfortunately, my young and naive brother-in-law who instead of thinking with his head was thinking with another part of his body, was part of a scam like this a couple of years ago. The "nice, young lady" took him for $6000. We all hope that now he will try to only think with the brain God gave him.

Kelli @ writing the waves said...

Foo on him, I say!

How crazy is that?

Beth Cotell said...

Larry and his pals email me all the time.

Is anyone foolish enough to buy into these scams?

Claire said...

My fave emails I get are from folk that want to supply me with little blue diamond shaped pills... I just send them robbie's email..

Miss Lisa said...

Those emails just boggle me....who the heck would really believe that?!

Simply Shannon said...

Don't you just love those emails? That's a new one though, I haven't seen one where they actually use your name to try and get you.

Anonymous said...

whoah.

okay.

let me go back and read that again.....

Anonymous said...

Haaahhahahah!!!

what a scam.

people are so silly.....and bored.

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Those letters are super crazy. What's scary is that people totally fall for it!

Anonymous said...

I have received that same exact email before! -I mean minus your name
Congrats on losing the millions, I'm very happy for you!

Stephanie Cunningham said...

I had a similar email come to me once. Someone needed my "help" to access their relative's money and as a reward for that "help" they would give me a cut. Do people really fall for these things?

Marla said...

sorry for your loss... it was far greater than mine today which i think was only 12 million pounds :)

J. Baxter said...

You are so wise. And level headed.

Somewhere around the 15.2 million dollar mark, I think I would have started getting WAY too hopeful.

EmmaP said...

I can't believe you passed up a chance to become a millionaire (sp?). I mean, it was right at your fingertips!!! hahaha!

I worked with a guy once who was scammed not once - but twice- on stuff like this. Then, he couldn't figure out why his wife left him!!! He lost over $30,000!!! Duh!

Hey - by the way...stop on over at my blog to pick up the award I have waiting for you!!!

Mama Smurf said...

LOL! And sadly enough I'm sure there are fools out there believing that crap!

Anti-Supermom said...

Great ending - add an 'L' on your surname (man, the word 'surman' makes was more sense than 'last name' - us crazy Americans.

Funny, I have yet to loose millions of dollars, luck me~

Vashey Fam said...

I get those too! Isn't it sad that we have to be so on our guard these days?

Anonymous said...

I get those on a daily basis! I think my favs are the ones telling me I've won the British lottery!

I only wish!

master Gardner said...

Well at least he spelled the words right! If I don't get at least one of these a week I feel slighted :(
Of course it helps to have a web page that has my e-mail address on it as the advisor for an Explorer post (scout age kids who do ham radio).
The real sad thing is that they do get some people who fall hook line and anchor (sinker isn't big enough) for these things. So they keep trolling for suckers/I mean "interested parties". By my rough count I could have been at least a trillionare by now with all the people who wanted to give me money. Your kids keep getting better looking as they grow older.
Terry

Aracely said...

Mr. Foo is a Barrister Carol, that would make him your homeboy as we say. We Americans just don't possess that criminal mind set. ;)

I wonder if this has ever worked for Mr. Fool.

Kristen said...

I loved your interpretation of this. And yes, possibly Mr. Foo should add an L to his name! :)

4under3 said...

That is hilarious, Carol! Your injections cracked me up.

Great story!

Tiff