Saturday, September 9, 2006

Internet Fraud Goes "Old School"


I've been informed by a couple of people that they have received letters, postmarked in Spain, which they believed to be associated with "my company", due to the expropriation of a logo from the ExpertLaw website:

The letter itself is one that most reading this have received by email - the representation that somebody who happens to share their surname died in Africa, and the law firm is so eager to find an heir for their multi-million dollar fortune that they'll give it to anybody who happens to have the same surname. (The letter I was sent was carefully personalized - the recipient identified as "Dear UHIRIG".)

The letter indicates that Mr. PETER UHIRIG and his wife were killed in the Madrid train bombings, for some reason leaving $14 million in the hands of Mr. Cook. If you know the drill, Mr. Cook has searched exhaustively for heirs, but can't find a one. So because you share the last name, you win the lottery!

I like how they even included the ® symbol - but can you really expect participants in advance fee fraud to extend a great deal of respect to intellectual property law? I doubt that there is truly a "Christopher Cook & Co Solicitors" in Madrid, and if there is I truly doubt that their email address is "barristercook@aim.com". If that's the case, perhaps Mr. Cook needs to devote some time to figuring out if he is a solicitor or a barrister.

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