Police warn residents not to be hoodwinked by scam artists

BY KIRK STARRATT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

Letters involving an apparent scam have surfaced once again and Kentville Police Chief Mark Mander warns residents not to be hoodwinked.

A resident recently brought to Mander’s attention a letter he received from someone claiming to be Mrs. Rosario Munez Patrick from Spain, married to barrister Paul Patrick of South Africa. The letter is written in broken English with poor grammar. The author claims to be manager of bills and exchange at the foreign remittance department of C.C. Bank in Spain.

The author claims to have discovered an abandoned sum of U.S.$77.7 million in their safety deposit vault that belonged to one of their foreign customers who died with his entire family Dec. 12, 2002 in a motor vehicle accident along Barcelona Expressway. The author writes they are expecting his next of kin to claim the money because management can’t release it unless someone applies for it as next of kin. However, the man’s entire family was supposedly killed in the car crash.

The author wrote that since the recipient of the letter and the deceased customer share the same last name, the recipient could easily make the deal with her. The author wrote that all the secret information to help the individual claim the money as next of kin would be provided.



Scammer promises 40 per cent for you

The author states that she agrees 40 per cent of the money would be for the recipient of the letter - the foreign partner - and 60 per cent would be for her and her family. To arrange the immediate transfer of the funds to the recipient’s account, the letter’s author states that the recipient must first apply to the bank as the next of kin of the deceased and, once this is received, the text of the application would be sent by fax. The recipient is then supposed to send the application to the bank.

The letter’s author requests that the matter be kept confidential because that’s the only way they can achieve success. The author wrote that it’s between her, her husband and the recipient of the letter.

Mander said these types of letters surface in our area around this time of year. They are produced overseas by the tens of thousands and those responsible seem to blanket areas in Canada and the United States.

They seem to come in cycles, along with fraudulent e-mails. Other scams involve phone calls claiming that an individual has won a trip. All you need to claim your prize is to provide your credit card information over the phone.

Mander said there have been people in our area who have lost a lot of money in the past.

“It’s not hard to lose $10,000 or $15,000 in a hurry,” Mander said, pointing out that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. However, it’s difficult for police to reach out overseas.

Mander said the author or authors of these fraudulent communications try to pull people’s heartstrings, especially seniors. If they can get people feeling sorry for them, it’s easier to hook them in.