Not a local happening, but a scam to be aware of.....
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 4:31 PM
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 4:31 PM
PENSIONER CONNED OUT OF SAVINGS BY 'INHERITANCE' FRAUDSTERS
A pensioner was conned out of her savings in an elaborate email scam that promised her 30 million dollars of inheritance from a dead businessman, police said today.
The 80-year-old woman was told she was the sole living relative of a wealthy businessman killed in a Concorde crash in Germany in 2000 and she stood to land his £15 million fortune if money was sent to cover solicitors' and court costs.
Faked reports from the BBC website were sent to the woman to corroborate the deception.
After receiving five payments totalling £16,000, the fraudsters tried to persuade the pensioner, from Brackla, near Bridgend, South Wales, to re-mortgage her home in order to give them more money.
It was only when the victim, who asked not to be identified, finally confided in her daughter that the payments were halted.
Pc Steve Carpenter of South Wales Police said: "This scam has affected the lady badly. We spoke to her yesterday and she is in quite a poor way.
"She tried to hide it all the way through thinking that she was going to inherit all this money and eventually she turned to her daughter because these people were pressing her for more money.
"They are the lowest of the low. They knew exactly the sort of person they were dealing with because they were supplied with her date of birth.
"They knew she was 80 but money is all that matters to them."
He added: "It was a very, very well orchestrated set-up to the point where they emailed her press reports from the BBC website that had been doctored.
"It will be very hard to track these people. With the technology available today and these people being so clever, there is nothing to say they are even operating from this country.
"I would urge anyone who receives such an email to delete it."
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