Inheritance scam letter in the postal mail

When I returned from holidays yesterday, I was surprised to find a blank envelope with a postal stamp from Lisbon, Portugal, in my postal mail. Surprised since I do not know anyone in Portugal.
When I opened it, it contained a letter with the letterhead Prades Asociado, supposedly from a Spanish(!) law firm. The letter was addressed to Meulie Evert (instead of Evert Meulie) and was supposedly from Barrister Jose Grande. (a quick Google has shown me that there is a law firm named Prades Asociados Spain and that they do employ someone named Jose Grande.)

I will include the entire text here so that people who receive similar letters can easily find this posting/warning with Google:

Dear Meulìe Evert,
My names are Barrister Jose Grande and I work with Prades Asociados Spain. Actually, I got your contact information through the Norway public records while searching for a last name similar to my late client’s a business magnate by name William Evert, who lived in Spain for over a decade prior to his death, he died along with his nuclear family during the Tsunami catastrophe, which occurred December 2004.
Prior to my explaining further, I must first make an apology for this unsolicited mail to you. I am conscious that this is certainly not a predictable way of approach to foster a relationship of trust but because of the circumstances and urgency surrounding this claim.
Before the catastrophe; He deposited One Trunk Box/Diplomatic Personal Treasure, containing the sum of $10.8M TEN MILLION, EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS) with a Safe Security Company here in Spain, because of security and personal reasons he did not disclose the exact content of deposited diplomatic box to the SAFE house. As the attomey to late William Evert, the security company has mandated me to present a member of his family (heir/inheritor) to make Claims or the vault will be confiscated and taken to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security as unclaimed.
After exhaustive efforts of search for a direct family member to my late client which came to no avail, I was given an ultimatum to look for some relative to come for the claim or have the Vault liquidated and made unserviceable in accordance with existing laws.
Against this backdrop, my suggestion to you is that I will like you to stand as the next of kin. I know you may not be anyway related to my late client but having a common surname with him and the modality I have in place I can guarantee that if you follow my instructions (The rule of laws) and capitalizing of some judicial loop holes the vault will be release to us.
Mind you that this transaction is 100% risk free; there is no atom of risk connected to this business as I have worked out all modalities to complete the operation effectively. Once the consignment (vault) is released to you, we shall divide the content in the ratio of 50% for you, 50% for me as our benefit. (S 5.4 Million each)
Kindly indicate your responses to this mail either via my office email address, my private email address, you can also call or send me a fax for further clarification. Please be kind to get back to me if you are not willing to collaborate with me so that I can further my search for another partner.
Kind Regards,
José Grande Egüez. (ESQ.)

Why I am sure this is a scam? Hmm… Where do I start…

  • the letterhead says Prades Asociado while the real firm is named Prades Asociados…
  • Spanish companies do not transport their postal mail first to Portugal and mail it from there…
  • Evert is not my last name, but my first name, so I am in no way related to anyone with the surname Evert…
  • The real Jose Grande practices Maritime Law. I don’t think the Tsunami disaster, no matter how wet everything and everyone got, counts as maritime… 😎
  • The entire letter is written in absolutely horrible English, and reeks of Google Translate and/or Altavista Babel Fish.

What next? I have reported the letter to the Norwegian Police, and I encourage anyone else who receives a letter like this also to report it to the authorities.

196 thoughts on “Inheritance scam letter in the postal mail”

  1. Yes I agree. I also received a letter from Barrister Luis Romero in Spain. When I spoke with the second Romero their voices are not the same. The first voice sounds like an African the second is real Spainese . Yes usually Scammers written English is full of shit. I even request the first caller to go on Skype Video, he refuses giving all sorts of non sensical excuses. Ha ha this days Scammers find it hard to Scam I almost Scam him instead.

  2. I have received exactly the same as you. They must think I’m stupid. I live in Italy and I’m quite sure the police here wouldn’t bat an eyelid if I reported it. Maybe I should contact the police in Madrid.They’re obviously trying to collect money that doesn’t belong to them or get my bank account number. I didn’t believe them for one instant.They must think we have straw between our ears.

  3. I have received two letters and an e-mail from these fraudulent people. I completely ignored the first one. I then got an e-mail which I also ignored and I now have received the second letter. I live in Italy. Can anyone advise me what i should do about it? I’m sure that the Italian police will do nothing if I report it. Should I contact the police in Madrid?

  4. I got a letter from Luis Romero Lawyers Spain saying an x pat with my name died leaving me 9 million
    pounds !!!! he must think I am Mr G. Ullible. Phoned 101 non emergency (police} they didn’t want to know. Told me to phone citizens advice.

  5. I too just got a letter from them today which is the 12/06/15 and they sent it on 1/06/15 from someone called Manuel Antonio searched that name comes but with a place or location in Portugal with a Sum of 6.9Mills. I thought I’ll do research and saw this so Thanks for the heads up

  6. Surprise!, I always check when it’s to good to be true; although we did have this really happen with almost 2 million dollars. I must say though, they only offered me 6.5 , not as much as you lucky ppl

  7. I received 2 copies in the same envelope today from ‘Barrister Louis Jean- Baptiste, one to myself and one to both my husband and I. Quote from the first paragraph ‘this is by its nature as being utterly confidential and top secret’ What a crock of shite you scamming lowlifes!!! HAHA, off to drop it at the local police station tomorrow

  8. I received this letter in the mail June 19, 2014. The only difference was that it has a different lawyer, by the name of “Davies Michael Abogados” The letter stated that I have $8.6 million waiting for me and that I have to contact this lawyer back as soon as possible and he will get in contact with me as soon as he comes back from an assignment in the UK. This is a FRAUD, WAKE UP! Don’t fall for this scheme.

    1. Abogados, Yes, yesterday I received a letter from Martin Leon Abogados telling me that $6.8M was deposited with a Safe Security Company in Spain by ‘a next of kin’ . If I could pleas email him.
      the Letter was mailed in the UK. Scam indeed!

  9. Marie Robshaw

    Hey, we are lucky, four members of our family got letters (all in the phone book) how can people waste so much money on postage?? love the stamp by the way thanks.

  10. Lynda Ingham

    My mum is 82 years old and received one of these letters last week address to my late father who passed away in 1988! you can image my concern. I will be reporting this to the local police, my MP and the local news. My mum is an active member of the WRENs association and she will be making sure a note goes in there new letters.

    These people need to be stopped.

    Lynda Ingham.

  11. I got one today 4-12-14 8,950.000.00 it’s fake people not real it’s a shame that’s all people have to do.

  12. hello,
    I also received a letter today from Barrister Louis jean-baptiste, France, Paris informing me that I was beneficiary of the fund valued 8.950.000,00euro by his client before his death.
    27-02-2014 Perth, Australia

  13. They get our names from the phone book, because that is the only place in the world that lists only the first letter of my first name 🙂 My split was 50/50 I emailed the Lawyer from spain Henri Ayuso, who sent this letter from france when he was on special assignment lol 🙂 cant wait to see how much money he wants to unlock my 8.2 million 🙂 letter received February 6, 2014

  14. Another bogus letter received in New Zealand 2 days ago from Winkels & Asociados in Madrid Spain. Interestingly the warnings are out on Google that trying to enter their website will bring down your computer. Says it all. Another for the police.

  15. I too recieved a letter from Bissett & Mingo in France Re–Bar. Alain Bisset. My thought is he got his knowledge about me from Facebook because of an address issue as where he thought i was from.Keep on your toes out there and don’t get SCAMED.

  16. January 2014. Our letter is the exactly the same, Received in New Zealand . They are still at it ! I will pass the letter on to our police. Thank you for posting this it confirms it to be a scam !

  17. Kingston, Canada. Just received a letter. From Henri Ayuso saying we would get 50% of 4.5 million from the estate of some guy who died in the Cyclone Nargis Disaster in May 2008.

  18. My grandfather just got the same type of letter. JM Solicitors in Spain. To sum it up it was pretty much someone with the same last name died during the cataclysm mishap in July 2007. Wants to split 50/50. Both emails given @gmx.com & @gmail.com are obviously free emails. Like a previous poster said….why not use the law firms emails! Did a reverse seach for everything…couldnt find any info

  19. My,my this scammer certainly has many names and works in many countries.Received my letter here in Capetown this morning from Paris France , 111 Avenue Victor-Hugo, Paris, France. This an address of a Pharmacie .Ha,ha thanks to google maps.

  20. I got one, too! 5.8 Million US Dollars, from Bissett & Mingo in Paris, France. MY relative died during the Cyclone Nargis Disaster, which occurred in May 2008. I wonder what we all signed up for?

  21. Dec 31 – 2013, I received a similar letter today. It sounds like this scam may be re-circulating, but they have gotten a little smarter, maybe, as seem to be paying attention to the details more carefully in this round.

    I am located in London, ON Canada. It was from a law firm (Bissett and Mingo Legal Consultants) in Spain with offices in France, which is where the letter was postmarked from. I searched the law firm and it did indeed exist and all contact info was correct. What put me off was that the letter did not carry a signature, and the email address I was to respond to was a gmail address. I thought this was rather odd as a large law firm would have their own email addresses, obviously.

    I have just emailed the law firm directly at their “info@ . . .” to see what their response will be. I also thought it odd that the envelope did not have a return address on it. Mind you, the stationary on which the letter was printed was quite convincing. The scam sounds like it is the same – a relation died in the cyclone in Burma in 2008, left a treasure chest worth $5.8 million which they would be willing to split with me.

  22. P.L of Canada 18 October 2013Hello to everyone!!!I just received a similar letter from the same lawyer Timothy Zerillo Abogados from Madrid and I’m concern how he got my name/address.This is to let everyone aware to avoid further scam.May the Holy Spirit touch the heart who is doing this to do what is right……Lord,hear our prayer…JESU OFAM TOBIE..JESUS ,I TRUST IN YOU….

  23. Hello – Just to also warn my fellow South Africans and other people in the world, I have also received the lottery letter from Barrister Timothy E Zerillo Abogados in Spain promising me $10,5 million (of which I was promised 45% nogal!)as an inheritance sitting waiting for me in a vault. BE CAREFUL – please and spread the word to your friends so that they can warn the gullible.

  24. Leif Hartwig-Hansen

    I have got a letter too here in New Zealand, of same person. Here was it about 10.5 million US$ i a depot in Madrid, Spain belong to a Raymond Hartwig-Hansen, as was a oil contractor in Libya, but died by Kaddish fall. My name Sir was the only of its kind in the world when I was young and one in my family was an. Mech. engineer and and meant he was come to Libya for some about oil, but this is 60 years ago I hear about this. Therefore keep I a contact and got also the name of this depot called Groupo Halcon Seguridad in Madrid and found it. I have try contact them by E-mail and fax, but no respond ??? He. ask for 50% of the amount, as I accepted for find out more.
    The story was fit good in my case, But think now, who can be so stupid, spend time and money for stamp for this childish behaviour.
    But I have a phone number he give me, as is + 34 697 463 878, so maybe somebody can find this guy through this..

  25. Jennifer Lillis

    Me too – got one today in Vancouver Canada!! Take care all you Canucks out there – it is definitely a SCAM.

  26. Omg. I got one too. Saying that Raymond Wilhelmsen died in 2011

    and want me to be the next kin to open the vault then give them 50% me 45% and 5% for others?

    I tried to search the lawyers name, and adress. Everything was fake.

    i searched the e-mail adress. it was from america. registered 20.09.2013 in Tusla.

    They’re just dumb of stupid people. Use money to send alot of fake letters?

    Hope everyone use the Google to search before contacting them.

    Be careful.

    Keep safe.

    best regards Anna Lovinda W.

  27. Fellow South Africans, beware, I got a similiar letter where part of my name was used as the surname. There is NO easy way to big money.

  28. My mother also received a similar letter by mail from Julius Kim ESQ Solicitor, Spain last week. The letter stated she is next of kin to a late aunt that left an amount of 4,500,000,000 euro with her same last name. This is very disappointing to see that they can manipulate anyone with legal terms.

    I am so glad mum contacted me to ask for advice in this matter.

    However, if you look closely at the letters you can see that there are errors in different letter types (computer/typewriter ink) where they have changed the date and name, excessive spacing and computer legal jargon.

    This is a definite scam, beware of these mail people!!!!!

    Keep Well
    Stay Safe
    Qld, Australia

    1. Haha. OF COURSE these are scams. I didn’t have to do more than take a glance at the letter before starting giggling at the nerve and foolishness of some people. Why do people think that some distant unknown relative has left millions to a similarly distant unknown relative. Is it the same reason as why people play the big lotteries? If someone gets fooled by such scams, fool on them, I’d say. We all know of these scams now, at least us under 50. I say again, NOTHING in this world is FREE.

      1. haha, i received the same letter today. I’ve been reading about people being scammed and I always wondered why people are so stupid and naive that they think some unknown guy (who is probably not even real) would leave you millions of dollars.. seriously.. When i saw the letter in my mailbox i actually laughed because I never thought I would get a scam letter. I actually called the police and when I said what happened they just sighed.. Haha, I think they get a lot of those calls 🙂

        Norway, Bergen.

  29. Your blog popped up when I googled the name Timothy E Zerillo, from whom I today received a rather amusing letter here in Norway regarding “a relative working as an oil contractor under the regime of late Col. Muammar Gadaffi, dying in the revolutionary war in Tripoli in May 2011”. Haha. I really can’t be bothered reporting this to the police. I’ll post it on Facebook rather.

    Remember, nothing in this world is free ppl!

  30. I got one here in Brampton week before last from Timothy e. Zerillo in Madrid, Spain. This one was regarding his client Deep Raymond Annakie who was an oil contractor who worked under the late Mammar Gaddafi. He and his entire immediate family were killed in Lybia in 2011. The amount to be split was 10.5 million. 50% for the lawyer, 45% for me and 5% for any costs incurred. No such lawyer in Madrid. I also noticed an African accent. I went along with it for a while just to see where it was going (without disclosing any personal info of course). All kinds of certificates and oaths and fancy paperwork came. I even had an
    interview with the security company that supposedly was holding the vault where this money was deposited. Then the reel in…they need
    € 5, 900 to change me from beneficiary to owner of the vault. Now if 5% is for the costs incurred why do you need money from me? It’s laughable that people think that they can get away with these types of things. Oh.. also when I looked up the security company on the internet, the fax number was the same as the one that Timothy e. Zerillo has on his letterhead! Imagine…

    Lee Brampton, On

  31. Paul of Adelaide Australia – my brother in a Nursing Home in Western Australia also received the exact same letter. For someone in a nursing home with some mental and other disabilities this can be very tempting. However he is lucky that he has me for a sister and like you I could see through the letter as well. People should be very, very careful with these types of scams – they appear tempting and there are so many people out there who are desperate for a bit of financial help.
    Cheers
    Henny in Perth WA

  32. Got one here in Australia last week from a Timothy E Zerillo in Spain, but Google only found this to be a lawyer in Maine. One of the giveaways has to be that they are using a hotmail email address, as i’m sure real lawyers and barristers would have a proper domain name. Was for 10,500,000 USD, and a 45/50/5 split of funds.
    Replied a few times on email and got some information, and unless Spain are really behind in their legal letters from the rest of the world, then I strongly doubt this was legitimate.
    In my case, a long lose unrelated guy with the same name died and left all this money that wasn’t collected by anyone. I just find it fun to reply but without giving out any info, make them do the hard work for nothing in return!!

    Cheers, Paul, Adelaide, Aus

  33. I received a similar letter today from Winkels & Asociados in madrid, Spain but the postmark was from Valenca, Portugal. This letter 6 million, Eight Hundred Thousand Euros and 20% to be assigned to charity the remaining 80% to be shared 30% to “Dr. Michael Schmidt Winkels and 50% to me.

  34. Vaggelis Totoglou

    Got the same letter ine Greece from Dr. Michaels Schmidt Winkels mailed from Spain

    1. Aristotelis Panagopoulos

      Αδερφέ έλαβα κι εγώ παρόμοιο γράμμα σήμερα από τον ίδιο Dr. Michaels Schmidt Winkels που έλαβες κι εσύ. Μήπως σου λέει για 7.8 εκατομμύρια ευρά…. 20% σε ιδρύματα και τα υπόλοιπα 30 αυτός και 70 εγώ….μένω αθήνα κέντρο…

      1. παιδια και εμενα μου εστειλαν τετοιο γραμμα , πεθανε η μαρία λεει και εχει 6,800,000 και θελει 20%για ιδρυματα 30% για αυτον και 50% για μενα, πουστια εε?? και πως κερδίζει αυτος ο τυπος ? και πως βρηκε τα στοιχεια μας??

  35. Brian Lawrence

    I got my third Spanish inheritance letter offering me 47% of 7milliom onw hundred thousand euros. Two from ´Teneriffa and one from Madrid. The first one I was curious and came in telephone contact and I distinctly heard a Nigerian accent.They sent me all kind of papers and a beautiful death certificate. This set me on alert. I asked why is the death certificate so beautiful and he replied it is so in Spain.
    Again a bank manager called me and when I said you have a Nigerian accent. he became quite uppset and his barrister friend apologized for me. They sent all the papers at great financial loss to themselves and would like me to come down to sign for the money.
    OF course during this time I got another letter from the competition with only 5 million Euros. .

  36. Just thought I would put in my letter also. I got one from RYKE OVERMAS ASSOCIATES. It was to be split 50/50 from 9.5 million. Sad that someone would have had to die for this to be true, but wouldnt it be nice 🙂

  37. Peter Nijssen

    It just keeps coming. They only change the name to match yours. I am intrigued by the changing amounts. There seem to be a lot of wealth people named Philips meeting untimely ends in Spain, along with their entire immediate families.

  38. Debbie Alexia Black

    I just got one today from Ryke Overmas Associates Spain. Also saying that someone with the same last name died in a car accident. all the same stuff. $9.5million.
    The name was also a Mr. Philips Black
    Same amount etc., splitting it etc., and just randomly placing me as next of kin / beneficiary.
    Thanks,
    Debbie Black
    Windsor, Ontario

  39. I just got one today from Ryke Overmas Associates Spain. Also saying that someone with the same last name died in a car accident. all the same stuff. $9.5million.
    They emphisize that they found my name in the CANADA public records.
    Pretty sure no one’s name is purolized (Philips Eisfeld)

    Too bad, could use $4.75 million.

    Thanks
    Geoff Eisfeld,
    Toronto, Canada

  40. my brother and my mother both received a similar letter in the mail from spain as well this one is from a barrister Richard gottlie who states that a peter befays who worked as an oil contracter to the Libya government under the regime of late col. muammar gaddafi died on the 4th may 2011 in the Libya revolution war in Tripoli but before his demise he deposited the some of $6.5 mill u.s.d in a security safe keeping institutions in spain on Wednesday 15th October 2005 at 12:17 pm.It also says that the lawyer will get 50% and my mother will get 45% and the remaining 5% will be set aside for any expenses incurred during the cause of securing this deposit.

  41. My father got a very similar letter today. It came from a bank in Lisboa–her spelling–(which does exist) and the person sending the letter works in the bank in the position stated. He’s REALLY in the money–$69.4 million! He lives in Arkansas, USA. Interesting that the name of the person that he is supposed to contact is Susana Gomez. I noticed in an older post the name David Gomez.

  42. Brenda L. Esser

    My father Just received letter today from Barrister Martin David, Equity Law Firm, Valencia Spain. Apparently Gerald Esser and his family died in a car accident On Sunday, November 21st, 2005(Nov.21st,2005 is a Monday), BUT before he perished he deposited 28.5 million US dollars in a bank in Madrid-Spain. Now this lawyer has spent so much time looking for next of kin which he states has been very difficult for him, but since he found my dad, everything is just wonderful now and with a bit of information, he will split this money with my father 50/50!!! What a bunch of CRAP!!!! Don’t these people have anything better to do? Do people actually believe this nonsense? All it does is make you wish that this was real, and feel sorry for yourself because u don’t have this much $!!! Well, I always say “what goes around comes around”! They’ll get “theirs” in the end! Don’t fall for
    this! Sincerely, Brenda Esser, Quakertown, PA, USA

  43. mmmmm fascinating, we just got virtually the same letter yesterday and we are a south african family – looks like they are trying cover all the geographical bases!!

  44. Well …is a pity that it’s a hoax , boo-hoo…but after receiving the same letter that you all speak about here, I decided to google it and here I am writting from Israel after receiving a letter from Portugal from Winkels & Asociados, law firm based in Madrid, no LinkedIn no Facebook no google results from Dr Michael Schmidt Winkels (Esq) (why all the esquires write and not thee Seniors?) but MichaelSchmidt appears on LinkedIn without the Winkels that is part of the real name of a true Law firm…
    Anyway-there goes my 6.800.000 Euros’ inheritance from Late Auntie Ms Maria… Whatever…
    Beware you all
    lots of Health,
    Peace always,
    best regards, Marcelo.

  45. I got a similar letter here in Germany from Domingo Gonzales in November, from an office in Barcelona, mailed from Valencia. He supposed to work for Aravindans Legal Services and wrote the same nonsens. I was also sure that this is a fake but my curiosity brought me to this page.

    Thank you for posting
    Jacques

  46. Hi,
    Here is what I got today- who is really falling for this?

    My names is Barrister Benito Carlos of CANALES & ASOCIADOS ABOGADOS SPAIN. I sent you a business proposal letter long time ago,but as I write you today you have not respond to me, I am using this medium to remind you again because I am really running out of time. Please I would appreciate if you could confirm to me if you received the proposal letter please let me know through this Emails
    below:

    For further clarification reach me on this Private Email:
    [email protected]

    Best Regards,
    Benito Carlos. (Esq)
    Firm Email: [email protected]

    1. I recieved the same e-mail from this “Benito” in my postbox. I have already contacted the police. Here is a copy-paste of mail:

      —–Original Message—–
      From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
      Sent: Monday, February 11, 2013 5:24 PM
      To: undisclosed-recipients:
      Subject: Hello

      Hello,

      My names is Barrister Benito Carlos of CANALES & ASOCIADOS ABOGADOS SPAIN. I sent you a business proposal letter long time ago,but as I write you today you have not respond to me, I am using this medium to remind you again because I am really running out of time. Please I would appreciate if you could confirm to me if you received the proposal letter please let me know through this Emails
      below:

      For further clarification reach me on this Private Email:
      [email protected]

      Best Regards,
      Benito Carlos. (Esq)
      Firm Email: [email protected]

  47. I got the same letter yesterday from a Martinez Domingo from Despacho Abogados Buen A Vista. Spanish postage stamp, but sent from Valencia.
    We are still emailing each other, I am having great fun with this t0sser! I have persuaded him to cut his share from 50% to 40% 🙂
    (South Africa, KZN)

  48. Hi,

    I have also received a letter from Domingo Gonzalez Sastre Abogado, telling me the exactly same thing; that I am a certain Khammar from Late Mr Khan Khammar and that his fund valued 6,950.000.00 Euros before his death. He declares that I must contact him and give more details. But I still don’t understand how he can scam me! Please make me understand. It took more than a month to really research him, because I thought right away that this was not something normal. But my curiosity took overhand. It was quite easy to find him. I googled on his name and I found this page.

  49. I arrived home today and found the same letter in my mail box, as the letter that was posted on the web site, at first I thought what the h ll is this all about than I decided to google the name etc, I did not come up with anything,so I decided to google scam letters, thank you for posting this site.

    Miss Mae E Pinion

  50. July 28 2012
    Got the same letter here in Belgium from David Gomez (Gomez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados) from supposed office in Madrid but
    mailed in Valencia.

  51. Got the same letter from Alejandro Garcia Otiz. We are originally from eastern Europe. So our last names are different according to a gender.(Example: if male last name is Durov then female’s one is Durova) So it was a fun to read the letter where that so called lawyer telling about Tsunami victim put his first name as a male – Stefan, but last name – Kubanova. Had to be Stefan Kubanov. But even without that nonsence it was evident it is a new way for criminals to go on with well-known Nigeria e-mails SCAM

  52. Ha my Father ( who has been dead for the past 18 years ) also received a letter from Attorney: Alejandro Garcia Otiz from Spain Stating the same from all the letters above…with the internet now why do they bother.

    Bunch of tossers
    Lyn… New Zealand

  53. Recived a letter this morning with nearly the same content as described in the letters above. Domingo Gonzales suggested that we would split a sum of 6,950 000 euros, but first after we donate 20% of the total sum to a charityorganisation.

  54. My letter was from Jose Antonio Fernandez – with office address in Madrid. I too, apparently can share a 50/50 cut of 7 million five hundred thouisand….lol

    What chancers!

    This tsunami has been particulary vicious to large scale depositers……..lol

  55. I just received a letter here in Sweden as well although this particular one is from someone called Domingo González Sastre in Barcelona. Due to the poor english I immediately knew that something was fishy and decided to google that name and found an ACTUAL law firm with the same name. Upon closer inspection I noticed that there was an intended typo in the name. Looks like they’re trying to spread these scam letters in Europe as well.

  56. I have just received this letter as well, I’m in B.C. Canada. It was from Barrister: Jose Blanco Fernandez. The law firm is Estudio De Abogados. Anyone know what these guys want?

  57. Hi All,

    I got so excited when I received the letter from a spanish legal company for the tune of $9.4 million. I thought this was the gods shining down on me and giving me a free lottery ticket. Although my name was differrent the sender was prepared to exploit legal loopholes and the letter read like it was drafted by a 5 year old my desire for easy money kicked in and we agreed to split it 50/50. At the time he was a little low on funds and required I send $10,000 to proceed with inital legal costs. I sent the money and waited and waited but no reply. When I tried to follow up wth the company in Spain this sender didn’t exist. Do you think I was scammed or do you think the legal offfice got it wrong and he is working there still, diligently trying to get my money?

    Ever hopeful

    CK

  58. Seems like they’ve started the new round of distribution of those “letters of happiness”. Now it’s ON, Canada again.
    Today is June 1st, 2012, the letter is from “KPM Asociados SL, Spain” Sender’s name is Barrister Jorge Miguel Pozas. It contains the same bs as mentioned above. What bothers me, my credit card has been compromized several days ago, so, evrth looks like targeted attacks to my accounts. Everyone who gets these letters should double their attention, this scum could be not so funny as it looks at the beginning…

  59. Just got one today, was so happy cause we have money problem :/ Guess not. Heather Tiny town Alberta, Canada.

  60. My elderly friend received the same letter. The lawyer in this case is Oscar M Serrano, law firm of Asociados Serrano, Calle san juan 23, 28010, Madrid, Spain tel. 011 34 632 976 305 email [email protected] The amount is for $8,200,000.00 dollars at a 50/50 split. I love how they speak of “moral ethics” in the letter. In different websites I found the scam/fraud everywhere and some sites say they are from Nigerians living in Spain.

  61. bruno freudenreich

    i just recently received this letter in canada april 2012, they have used the name Marek Freudenreich, who was a well known polish poster artist just to make things look legitamate , the email to respond to is [email protected] not what i would expect from any law office! the whole letter looks suspicious, at least i learned about Marek the artist with the same last name, i may look for some prints in the future but i will not be expecting the 4.7 million $

  62. I have received two of these identical letters with only differing names within the past month. I’m located in London, Ontario, Canada. I threw out the first one without a second thought but after receiving the second one, I felt compelled to google it. I’m not very surprised to find that it’s a scam but it amazes me how far-reaching it goes. Most people would realize that this is a scam but it’s scary to think of the few people who would be vulnerable to such deceit. I’m reporting this to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Toll free- 888-495-8501

  63. Looks like the scam is still going on. I received mine this morning from a Manuel Sanchez Martinez. Pretty much the exact same wording but inflation brought down my sum to $9.4 M USD. The letter was mailed from Spain but the letterhead was printed in off the computer on a bubble jet printer….. Gmail fro a law firm is also a bit suspicious.

    Thanks for posting everyone….I will miss my long lost unknown relative.

    Darlene

  64. I just received the very same letter .I live in Kitchener where probably another 5000 Schmidt lives. Very common name.
    Kinda worries me where the hell did they get my name and address.
    Obviously this is a scam and I am trying to figure out why are they spending money on stamps and what is the reason they are sending these letters to all over the world.
    The only thing I could come up with is that if you are dumb enough to believe that a lawyer is offering 50-50 for you and you jump and respond they are going to ask for some money from you for whatever reason.
    I did not respond to them ,

  65. Brandi Leisner

    I just want to thank you for posting this. I received a letter today from Oscar M. Alfonso saying that a relative perished in the tsunami. I live in Prince George B.C. and will be reporting this.

  66. Last week I received a letter from Eloy Abelardo Asociados for 10M . Split 50/50. Just like in the letter above except 10% would go to a charity. How kind of them! Thank god I googled their name and found this site as the letter nearly fooled me.

  67. Just received my letter (in Edinburgh, Scotland) from Barrister Dona Gadbois (yes, I checked, there is a real lawyer of this name). £10.552M this time. Reported to fraud squad and trading standards.

  68. another similar letter today from ELOY EBELARDO ASOCIADOS C/CALLOA DE LIMA 4, STNTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 38003 ESPANA
    from Eloy Abelardo claiming a person with the same rare surname as myself died in 2003 leaving funds of 4.95 million euro

    And to avoid this being confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank, he wishes to present me to the bank and wants to give 10% to charity, and split the remaining 90% equally between us.

    All he asks is “your honest cooperation to enable us to achieve this transaction” and has supplied his 0011 34 phone, fax numbers and his and email address.

  69. Wll,well.After a long silence,they here again,all the way down under.Looks like they wont give it a rest.It seems,it does not do much good to go to the authorities,they.re still here,so I just ignore it.Let them spend money on stamps

  70. I got mine today from eulogi broto Alonso associados. He says for a late relative that died in the catastrophe in December of 2004. I could split 50/50 the amount of 9.500.000.00 mill. If I claim that I have the same last name as some lady from there.. I googled him and he is from a law firm with pics and all… I’m taking this to the police here in Ontario and going to see what will be done because there are a lot of people out there that would fall for this and end up having there lives taken because of these scammers.. Thankyou so much for your post!

  71. Buenas Tardes, bueno yo recibi una carta que decia que yo podia ser un pariente de un tal william deceduto. de parte de un abogado llamado Eloy Dominguez Abelardo diciendo que si trabajabamos juntos para sacar el dinero del difunto que amontaban a 8.000.000 de euros. Leyendo estos comentarios pregunto: que debo hacer en este caso?

  72. My parents-in-law received scam letter from “Spanish law firm” Nicoloa Rodriguez Asociados regarding inheritance of 9.5 euros from 2004 Tsunami victim who shares their surname. The biggest give away for this scam is that these so-called lawyers want you to POSE as a Next of Kin and that they will be sharing in the inheritance 50:50! Goodluck!!

  73. The sad thing is people will fall for this and lose money for it. My mother just got hers today. Her last name is incredibly rare and it’s pretty much died out. There are names similar, but we would know if we had a relative by such name. They should have done a little research, since the last name is Ukrainian, and Laznik is not a first name but a surname, so they screwed up there as well. My mom was freaked out because they used the first letter of her name, and can’t figure out where they got it from since she’s not listed in the phone book and C was not the letter used beside her last name. If anything this letter would be sent to my father, as he would be the one related, not my mother who married into the last name. The mail took a week to get to her however two of those days were weekend days, so still doesn’t work. We will be reporting this, my moms going to scan the letter and mail it off to the anti-fraud thing in Canada. Hopefully they catch these assholes. I hate having to even waste my time on this bullshit, but screw it, just because people are naive doesn’t mean they deserve to have money taken from them. I doubt they’ll be caught though… most people probably will not report it, or report it to the wrong people, or just toss the letters when they get them.

  74. Grrr… writing form Alberta, Canada… received one here today too. So frustrated that my information is this accessible to the world! Anyway, it smacks of fraud to the point that I don’t think the law firm noted in the letter is even real (Irfan Abogados in Spain irfanabogados.com) – I don’t have the time to ‘investigate’ the law firm etc. in detail but I seriously doubt it exists! Besides, what the letter claims is 100% legal does NOT sound legal to me. Further, by getting our comments through bogus companies, they probably try to ‘better’ their scam! I’m with others: I’m calling the Canadian Anti-Fraud unit about it.

  75. I got the the same letter a few days ago from spain I thought it was true at first but then new that it is too good to be true I am from Ontario Canada and the letter said it was on 6.8 million dollers but the person who sent it wanted 40% and 20% for donation or something and then I get 40%. I am going to go to the police with this letter.

  76. I also received a letter from Alejandro & Socios Servicios Legales this barrister Dominico Diesi Santiago must be a real loser. This is the second letter I have received from Spain. He obviously has nothing better to do with his time, maybe if he got a legitimate job he wouldn’t have time to think about how to scam people. I just hope that these letters don’t get to the elderly, maybe this idiot should have died in the tsnami himself, there were a lot of lives taken away & he is so disrespectful.

    get a life idiot. Perth, Western Australia

  77. My wife received a similar letter from Javier Ruiz Velasco de Bellas.
    The website given seems legit: http://www.ruizdevelasco.com
    As someone has already said, the email address in the letter was: [email protected] (scam)
    Email of the website was different: [email protected] (legit?)
    The guy’s phone number, which we called and was answered by a man with an African accent was: 011-34-603-208-103.
    He did answer his phone, but apparently was not happy that we called it. Must’ve cost him some money to receive the long distance call. His phone and fax number (349-214-62512) are not the same as the website.
    We have no Spanish relatives, although the last name was ours. I believe these people do a google search for your last name and mailing address. I am sure that is how they got our’s, although when asked, he said he found it from the Department of Commerce in Madrid.

  78. I received a similar letter in the mail in Australia. His barrister is called Abogados Juan Garcia and was supposed to have 12.5mil in inheritance. Thanks for this forum innocent people can have some hope of others not being ripped off!

  79. I received a letter from Alejandro & Socios Servicios Legales on Oct 10, 2011. It’s identical to your letter with the exception of name changes. Isn’t it amazing how so much money has been found all at once and how willingly these kind people would like to share it? Please let me know when you recieve your money. LOL
    Toronto, ON

  80. I am as lucky as You guys 🙂
    I also received one of those letters from Alejandro & Socios Servicios.
    I feel badly for those who really getting involved in such as scam.

  81. I received a similar letter in the mail at my Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada address. This is a sophisticated inheritance scheme scam:
    – the letter arrived through the postal system with 0.80 € postage stamp;
    – the letterhead is from a fake legal firm in Madrid, Spain called “Alejandro & Socios Servicios Legales”;
    – the fake barrister is “Dominico Diesi Santiago”;
    – the website for this legal firm actually exists: http://www.alejandrabog.com;
    – the website shows the barrister on its list of lawyers in the firm: [email protected];
    – the letter also provides the fake barrister’s personal email address: [email protected];
    – the fake dead relative is named “Marek”, with the same last name as I have.
    However,
    – the domain name for the website was registered with a registrar in India using a fake address in Australia;
    – the contact information page on the website does not provide a telephone number, only a fax number.
    It’s a scam!

  82. Montreal Canada

    October 6, 2011

    Just received a similar letter from a William H. Olive barrister with the «apparent» law firm of Lisola Pozo Abogados. Incredibly this false law firm has a website. Mr. Olive’s biography mentions that he was born in Alabama U.S.A., yet the letter is not drafted in very good english.

    I also verified his name with the law society and there was no listing for this name.

    It appears that this scam is still alive.

  83. Chilliwack, BC today–Alejandro & Socios in Madrid, for the ever-popular 10.8 million. (Don’t you love the “point eight”?)

  84. Thanks Evert,
    I received a VERY similar letter in the mail just yesterday supposedly from a legitimate law firm in Spain.
    I’m ticked that whoever sent this letter has my home address in Toronto, Canada.
    I will be taking this matter further.
    Thanks again!

  85. Leszek from Ottawa

    So, it looks like my dead “relative” had TWO different attorneys working for TWO different law firms…. How is that for being well protected (LOL) ? The first letter came last week from Sergio San Miguel, who works for Gamon Economista Y Abogados in Castellon, Spain (letter mailed in Lisbon, Portugal). Then the second letter came yesterday from Jose Luis Navarro Solera working for Navarro-SL, Associados in Madrid, Spain (letter mailed in Alicante). They must be traveling a lot, both of them (and no wonder, so many dead business magnates who left 10.8 million dollars and so many heirs to find…).
    Well, Sergio San Miguel wants to split the money 40-40 with 20% going to a charity, while Jose Luis Navarro Solera prefers more straightforward deal, 50-50. I think I’ll go with Jose :-).
    Honestly, I’ve been looking through the number of comments in this Blog and through the dates of these comments. Looks like this scam is going around the globe and it is doing so without much interruption for more than a year. So, could anyone tell me what good does it do to report it to ANY Police or Fraud Fighting Organization ???

  86. I got mine today from Barrister San Miguel and I am just so pissed at the fact that there are sickos who actually do this. My mom being very gullible fell for this and got really excited as she told me about this letter. I wanted to cry at the fact that they’re making elderly and gullible people feeling like this when they open this BS letter.

    First of all, the envelope if came from portugal, should have more stamps, return addresses, from crumpled. My envelope was completely new. The letter was just so full of bad grammar. And if something like this were to happen, wouldn’t they just call you? Im sick at the fact that they can actually find our address. This needs to end. Im reporting this to the Canadian Fraud association and you should too if you get this mail. I usually never post anything on these kinds of sites but for this letter I will.

    FUCK these guys.

  87. Received letter yesterday from the barrister Gamon Economista Y Abogados. I live in Barrie, ON and for sure I don’t have relative name MAREK. I’m going to report this Anti-Fraud Centre.

    Thank you for sharing and this SCAM must END.

  88. Charlotte Russell

    My parent’s received a third letter today, with the same text as reported above, it was from Sergio San Miguel of Gamon Economista Y Abogados, Avenida del Rey Don Jaime 27 12001 Castellion, Espana, it was mailed from Portugal. The envelope was cheap and blank without a return address, the letter was printed on cheap paper.

    I checked on Google and there is an actual law firm and Barrister of the same name working there.

  89. LOL! Well I got my letter in the mail yesterday. They are now using Alejandro & Socios Servicios Legales – Barister Dominico Diesi Santiago. I think I’ll play them or awhile and notify the authorities.

    These guys!

  90. Hi Evert,

    Good work on this blog. I too received the exact same letter that you quoted at the top of the blog except this time it was from Spain and it was addressed to me in Montreal, Canada.

    The letter came from Alejandro & Servicios Legales, Calle de Jose Abascal 45 bajo, 28003, Madrid Espana, Fax: +34 917 903 792 TeL; +34 672 876 213. The supposed barrister is Dominico Diesi Santiago, at e-mail: [email protected]. There was also a private e-mail: [email protected].

    Thanks for alerting people to this scam.

  91. Northern Ontario Lady

    Glad this web page was here. I sure was hoping this was my road to retirement, but new this had to be a scam.

    Thanks to everyone for sharing their experience. It helps anyone else that may receive one of these letters.

  92. my mum received the exact same letter from “Sergio San Miguel” from “Gamon Economista Y Abogados” law firm in spain. totally blank envelope except for 2 red stamps – same as described above. mum’s surname is ioannisci – they assumed this is slovakian / croation, so they named her “dead” relative “marek” … our family is actually italian.

  93. Was feeling left out…but mine finally arrived. Another Albertan from Canada. Maybe they will stop when they add up all the postage?!

  94. Well, folks, the scam has definitely reached Singapore! They probably got my email off a car website, where I posted my car for sale. Maybe these scammers need some wheels to get around too. This was how they ‘customised’ their scam letter:
    Greetings Navin,
    I will buy your car at your price but first i need your assistance to my proposal.My name is Barrister Hertio Grande and I work with Prades Asociados Spain…..

  95. My grandfather received this letter today. It mentioned that we had a distant relative living in Spain who recently passed away in the “Tsunami catastrophe, which occurred December 2004”. Our surname is a relatively uncommon Polish name, and there are only a few listed in Canada and possibly a half dozen in other places around the world. We immediately were skeptical and decided to do a quick search to check the validity of the letter. The law firm has a website, which seemed unofficial and quickly made. We then did a google map search of the address listed which showed that at that location is a Citi-Financial bank. Then after a search of the name, Sergio San Miguel, we found this site.

    Thanks to everyone for confirming our suspicions. But we’re wondering if anyone has responded to these letters?

  96. I am glad to find this blog because I got the same letter as yours except with different law firm name and the sender.
    But it starts with “My names are Barrister Dominico…”.
    Thanks for posting the blog.
    Otherwise I would fall for the scam because of money$$$.

  97. Tought I Hit It Big

    My mother got the same letter for $10 million. It was sent from a law firm residing out of Spain. I should have read this blog earlier because I have already told my boss where to go 🙂

  98. Has now targeted Canada. Letter from Spain Postmarked portugal. Usual BS for 6.5million Euros. A Cari Moscrip estate.
    If they are paying that postage it would cost a bundle. Suspect it is fraudulently stamped on envellope.

  99. Got this garbage today too, via snail mail, and this one uses a real Spanish Law firm and real names from lawyers from that firm. I am sure they will love to get this letter.
    I laughed out loud reading it,awesome stuff, 10.8 M Euros no less.
    Name of firm: HERAS ABOGADOS BILBAO
    Phone: 34-632-560 041

    They only changed one letter in the email address of the firm. They are getting crafty.

  100. I received a letter today from Barrister Dominico Diesi Santiagofrom Alejandro & Socios Servicious Legales. I was 99% sure it was a scam but it makes a person question their selves. I even made an appointment with my lawyer and then went on line to research. Thank you for all you comments it saved me the lawyer fees and his time.

  101. My friend just got it. From Abogados Alfaro in Madrid. The law firm is real, but at a different address. And the email addresses in the letter are at gmail.com and mail.com, while the real firm has its own domain.

    1. My husband received this same letter,I knew it was scum,but my husband could`nt sleep at night and was upset about the split (50-50) on HIS money. Do not fall for this scum remember “IF IT IS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE – BECAUSE , IT IS NOT TRUE”

    2. Yep, got one in Queensland Australia. They actually got the surname correct, but only used a first initial,for first name. I googed the ‘supposed’ dead man and …..nothing. Will be sharing this with friends on facebook and the local current affairs shows to try and spread the word…bummer, still have to look for a job. : (

  102. I got a letter postmarked from Portugal from a spanish law firm of Antonio Ignacio Romero in Madrid, spain. they say that I have inherited $22.5 million from late engr. David Granero. The scam involved setting up a spanish bank account which they control so any money that is sent will be promptly stolen and you never heard from them again. The other lawyer or abogado names on this form are david mendoza valenzuela, juan zamora, rose I. hernandez. The email for the lawyer is [email protected] and the phone numbers are, 34 911 011 046, mobile 34 634 079 850, and they refer you to the banker Sergio Alvarez who tells you that you need to open an account at their bank, Banco Caixa Penedes (which is a real bank) then they want you to fill out a form and send the money to open the account. The banker email address was [email protected], which is one letter off from the actual email address of the people at the bank.

  103. received a letter from Juan Barrera Montera from Spain…he was on “business” in Portugal so the letter was sent from Portugal.

    Same Tsunami of Dec 2004 claimed the life of this man whom deposited $10.8 million. I live in Toronto, Ont Canada.
    July 7, 2011 received

    1. Woke up, got today’s mail and discovered I don’t have to go to work…….I’m going to be a millioniare…..or perhaps I should got to work for now. My letter was from South African Barrister Jonathan Andrew Kalyan Moroka Esq. Yes a real lawyer, real death (Mr. Alan Williams…..not my surname) etc. Real great scam for $17.7 million. Perhaps he should have used a ‘spell-check’. What the heck is “$17,7 million$”? Why does he not have E-Mail? Well at least the stamps were pretty

  104. I have received a letter to !!
    From a Romero Rafael, just the same letter as the others.
    The letter was send to me from Valencia

  105. Reference: Evening Standard, 14th June 2011. MET HUNT – SOUTH AFRICAN SCAM LETTERS. ——- Can I ve the address of Detective Sergeant Mark Ham, of the Met’s Economic and Specialist Crime Unit, London, as I m also the victim of African Scam letters and have maintained a file of all correspondence. if I could get an appointment of Scotland yard, may be I could provide them a little bit information while investigations? My email address is: [email protected] thanking u very much.

  106. Hi all
    I have received a leter fro a funding company it claims 12,2 million euros have bee left from a death in the 2004 spanish train bombing. it must be costing him a small fortune as he is continually phoning me from his mobile phone. I have been stringing him along sinnce the 22/04/2011 He has not asked for any money whatsoever an I have told him that I do not have any mooney as Iam a pensioner but he still insists that this is no scam.

  107. yes me too I recieved the letter. Now I am a millionaire!! im so happy i didn’t ignore it!!!!

  108. I just got one today but I’m curious why none of you have contacted these people to see where it leads. Believe me nobody will be relieving me of any money. The letter states we will split the pot so if they are so sure they can gain half the pot they should foot all the bills.

  109. Martin Olender

    Hello folks,
    I am glad to report the Poland has joined the long list of countries the scammers consider worth sending this rubbish to. I am a lawyer and a client just walked out of our office after seeking advice on this letter he just received 🙂 This one was from Barr. William Steinberg of Oraiiye Abogado, Madrid, Spain. The English has emproved slightly since v1.0, but it’s still practically the same letter. There is a phony site to go with it.

    Has anyone had any luck with the authorities?

  110. My grandmother got one today. This scam is everywhere.!! Thankgod for the Internet and Thankgod for this forum.! Am going to write to the law firm and let them know they are getting abused.! I doubt the Australian police will do much about this sadly. 🙁

  111. I received a letter today from Barrister Sergio San Miguel at Gamon Economista y Abogados in Spain. Posted in France, no return address. The offer is a 50-50 split of US$10,800,000.

    The letter mentions that I have “a common surname with” the purported client of the writer. I understood this to mean we have the same surname. My surname is not at all common – there are fewer than 10 in Canada, and only 5 phone listings.

    The office address as listed in the letter is Castellon, while the mailing address is Valencia. The website listed in the letter (www.GamonEconomistSaboService.com) says the firm is in Madrid.

    Interestingly, Whois identifies the registrant of this website as: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0125799019, 96 Mowat Ave, Toronto, ON M6K 3M1, Canada.

    I will be reporting this to my local police, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, etc. After some googling, I’m not convinced that there is any legitimate business with this name.

  112. Today rec’d the inheritance letter for $8.6million, but from FRANCE!
    The lawyer’s name was given as Javier Penas, same company based in Castellon/Valencia as others have got.
    My letter is faxing off to theCanadian Anti-fraud Centre this pm.
    Thanks for the tip, Amanda!
    Alec

    1. I just received mine via email.
      I know they got my email from craigslist.org. They tried to scam me there too by the way.
      Its clearly a scam.

  113. I received my inheritance letter from Barrister Hernandez Benito Cruz E.S.Q. of Alejandro & Socios Servicios Legales, Madrid, in Perth Western Australia on Wednesday 25th May. He sent his letter from Belgium as he is “on a job seminar” there, it was posted 23 may 11 using a Belgian stamp.

    Maybe he is attending all these job seminar’s because his scam isn’t working!

      1. Also received the same one here in Melbourne, Australia (well my admin assistant has recieved it – she has a Roumanian surname – which looks somewhat incongruous – sort of like Donald Ceausescu (not her real surname obviously) – love to know how many Roumanians with first name Donald there are (or should that be were) living in Spain?

        Also I wonder if this site has been sabotaged by the criminal masterminds behind this scam – I had to reload the page a number of times and kill the load before it completed to be able to read it at all – an error message pops up saying IE has suffered an error and needs to close.

        Good luck with this…

        1. The site’s just fine, although under a bit of a load every now and then. I’d recommend switching to a better browser, like Chrome, or Firefox. 😉

    1. My mother got the same letter dated the 7th of July, just luck I did some investigation and found this sight!!!!

  114. got the same one from france saying that im the next of kin because of my common surname with a man who deposit 8.6 million $ before he died from an auto crash accident in madrid 2002.

    And the man who send me the letters is named Melvin Aristotle and work for GAMON ECONMISTA & ABOGADOS in spain.

    For sure it is a scam letter so I will report this to the police too .
    Thanks everybody.

  115. Got my ‘letter’ by snail mail today….same details as ‘Obvious 419 Scam’ above. They must change ‘law firms’ every couple of months to keep it ‘interesting’. SHAME on these ANIMALS/IDIOTS!

  116. I got the same letter in the mail – Tsunami in Spain – 12,600,000 – they want someone with a ‘mature mind’ with whom they can work to present me as next of kin! LOL.
    Name: Allan Gonzalez
    Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
    They have a website with different address.

  117. Obvious 419 Scam

    Just today got the same letter, exactly the same wording. From “Alejandro & Socios Servicios Legales”, barrister Hernandez Benito Cruz, [email protected], private email [email protected]. The web site seems to be a front for the scam.

    Writing all this data so that gullible people could find this thread via google.

    All that aside, the letter was quite entertaining. I got a good laugh out of it.

  118. Another one has reached Australia. Mine was the Gamon Economista edition with a total of $8.6 million to be split 50%- 50%. Lucky me… shame my sirname is a bit tricky for these champions.. will notify authorities

    1. Just received mine today John. Same law firm as yours. Spain is now the “Nigeria” for financial scams it seems.

  119. My mom got a letter from portugal to day, fortunately she told me so I could convice her it was fake.
    We live in sweden btw

  120. Further to the previous comments. While checking a scam letter by searching the Web, it is important to recognize that any scammer can create a perfectly reasonable looking Web site as a digital front for his scam. The fact that a supposed legal firm has its name on the Web with all the usual legal marketing features, like mentioning individual names of lawyers and their specialities, fax number and address, etc., does NOT make the legal firm any more real. These are sophisticated scammers, hence, be doubly skeptical of what any Web site they mention may or may not claim. The only way to be sure of the legitimacy of such a firm is to go there yourself in person. But why bother, you already know the answer whether their letter/proposal is bona fide – if its too good to be true….you know the rest.

  121. Heather Haddleton

    I received the same inheritance letter. From Javier Matesanz Esq I know my last name is rare, but to track my name all the way to Peterborough Ontario Canada ( most people don’t even know where it is). Opening a letter like this ( to good to be true).
    It’s good to check into it before responding. I hope receivers of this
    have done that. As well I hope they are caught before someone gets hurt. If by chance someone of age or health issues opens this and has a heart attack will they be charged with murder?

    1. We got ours Today in Peterborough Ontario too, Dated Oct 10th 2011 From Spain.
      BEWARE of :
      Dominguis Mahedano Abogados~Law firm in Spain
      attorney: Eloy Abelardo Domingues

      Chain letter for NEXT of Kin 10.8 million dollars !

    2. I’m from Surrey, British Columbia, Canada and I received a very similar letter today (Oct.28’11) from a spanish law firm. They note the website of http://www.ruizvelasco.com, which is a valid law firm, but the email address listed is @ruizvelesco.com. I have an uncommon last name, but I’m 100% sure that none of my relatives are spanish. Much like the letters all of you have noted, this asks me to stand in as an heir and split the proceeds 50/50 with the lawyer. Funny thing is the letter is terribly written, first refers to the sum in Euros and later in Dollars.

      1. I recieved the same letter on October 29 from the same people I think we all want to believe that some how the letter is real but when we explore the facts it just plain stinks. I read everything very carefully and believe they will string you along and at some point exspect money for legal fees under no circumstances should you pay them a cent. sincerely Rob V of coquitlam B.C

  122. Received the same scam letter with exactly the same wording including attending a “job seminar in Portugal” today (April 1 – how suitable!). Amazingly the letter was date stamped Portugal, March 28! I called the post office to see if that is possible since letters from northern Europe take at least a full week. They said it wasn’t. Their thinking was that the franking date in Portugal was set wrong. Why? Who knows? I personally can’t see any benefit either way.

    Since I have received the same type of letter from some character in Nigeria, I found the Spanish one more amusing than serious. However, I am still totally perplexed that in checking the Gamon Economista Y Abogados Web site, they have EXACTLY the same email address, EXACTLY the same Fax number, EXACTLY the same name of the lawyer (Borras Macias) who sent me the letter, exactly the same location for their office (Valencia/Castello) AS IS MENTIONED IN THE LETTER. Only the tel number is different. I can only surmise that the entire web site for this “legal firm” is a scam and that the four “lawyers” described are the fraudsters or participate in fraud as a side line (remember that the Spanish economy has hit rock bottom). The world is filled with crooked lawyers and I think this crowd might fit the bill.

    Just as an aside, I have no hesitation in writing back to these characters with a semi-serious letter asking THEM for a $10,000 surety or downpayment before I would agree to participate in their scheme. I have yet to receive a $10,000 cheque nor follow up correspondence!

  123. Me too! Sydnet Australia!
    1) I am NOT A SIR
    2) I am NOT A JUDGE
    Mine was from Barrister Miguel Fernandez and if he got my inforamtion from the Autralian receords, all Aussies are in big trouble! For starters I am NOT A SIR, AND I AM NOT A JUDGE! Mind you, bit of a worry since they got my address down pat!! SICKOS!!

  124. I received this letter except from England, from Greg Collins and for 6million dollars. I’m a bit jealous – everybody else was offered 8! 🙂 I am reporting this to the FBI and local police.

  125. Araceli Podolski

    Well, I got mine from Gamon Economistas y Abogados in Spain… Are these guys idiots? or are there people who actually fall for these? The first thing I do is check out anything that sounds “to good to be true”.

  126. Well the scam is that once you reply they send you all kinds of forms to fill out and then at the end of it all they want $8000 to release the money from the vault. Good thing I don’t have any money to send them..lol

  127. barbara ovechkin

    got the same letter today from barrister viana de ka puente javier FCC abogados anyways who do i contact ? and what is the point of the scam ? what happens if you email or call?

  128. My mother received the exact same letter as the scanned example.
    This time the Barrister was called Andres moreneo velasco.
    We live in New Zealand.
    They obviously use a whole lot of different “Barristers” names on this shonky scam.
    Same envelope and the 2 red ink stamps, same words but the date was 11 Feb 2011.
    I’m passing ours on to the authorities.
    Please don’t fall for this scam!!!

  129. Hey Guys,

    Looks like this scam has made it to Melbourne. My partner who is Brazilian by heritage was tracked down to Melbourne, Australia for some mystery relative in Spain! Same as above letter via Portugal supposedly from Spain from Barrister Scornik Gerstein from Souviron Economistas Abogados.

    These scams are run by scum who feed on the weak! Its amazing our far their reach is around the world!

  130. Recieved my letter today from the barrister: Javier Matesanz. I live in Calgary AB.and have no relative by the name of Donald Atherton. The letter is word for word with everyone elses. If you live in Canada I suggest reporting this to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Toll free- 888-495-8501
    Toll free fax- 888-654-9426 or e-mail [email protected]. Reporting this to your local police or R.C.M.P is a waste of time.. If you don’t live in Canada, look up your local Anti-Fraud Centre. There should be one local to everyone. Hopefully this issue can be resolved

    1. This scam has made its way to Regina, SK Canada. My dad received the same letter today from Sergio San Miguel from Gamon Economista Y Abogados law firm. I will be reporting this to the Anti Fraud Centre asap. Thanks for posting this.

      1. a cousin in law residing in canada received the same letter from sergio san miguel too. i hope nobody fell for this scam!

  131. I’m glad we found this site. My father-in-law received this letter, also. The name of the lawfirm was Souviron Economistas Abogados and the Barrister is Gonzalez Sasia. The rest is pretty much identical to the letters everyone else is getting. -taking the letter to the police.

  132. Received yesterday too.
    Came here as a result of Google search.
    In my example:
    Company: Souviron Economistas Y Abogados
    http://www.tsouvironabogados.com (btw, such site really exists)
    Barrister: Gonzalez Sasia
    (btw, such lawyer is listed on that site:
    GONZALEZ SASIA
    Graduated from the University of Valladolid. General practice: penal and civil law. Languages: Spanish and English
    Email: [email protected]).

    The letter also contains:
    NOTE: I am sending you this Snail mail from Portugal, because I came here for a job seminar … etc.
    One funny thing I noticed: the letter is dated Feb 25, 2011 (Friday). I know mail service doesn’t work on weekends. Nonetheless the letter has magically landed into my mailbox on Tuesday March 1, 2011 in Toronto area in Ontario, Canada.
    Regular mail from Portugal to Canada in just 2 working days? Really? DHL and UPS should envy! Ha-ha 🙂

      1. There are two red ink imprints on the envelope.
        First one(round-shaped):
        SOCORRO (LISBOA)
        CTT
        2011 02 25
        1100
        Second one (rectangle-shaped):
        Horizontal text:

        CTT CORREIOS
        € 00,80
        EMP 981974
        Vertical text (text direction rotated 90 deg, reading from bottom to top)
        On LH side: N-0053
        On RH side: PORTUGAL
        Short search on Internet related to CTT CORREIOS revealed that such mail service operator really exists in Portugal and the horseman with the horn is exactly their logo.
        http://www.ctt.pt
        It has English page which is .
        I don’t speak Portuguese but tried to navigate the site using online dictionary and some common sense.
        If you go to and then () then you’d find delivery time for Europe:
        http://www2.ctt.pt/fectt/wcmservlet/ctt/empresas/correio/envio_internacional/correio_normal/correio_normal.html

        For the rest of the world (applicaple in my case for Canada):
        (which is a little bit bold statement, I don’t think it’ll be that quick for location somewhere, say, in Africa).
        Letter weighing below 20 g with option () really costs exactly € 0,80.
        M-m-m…
        I’m not sure if mail from Portugal to international destinations is supposed to have any kind of sticker attached to envelope.
        In any case just envelope by itself looks quite convincing.
        On the other hand the fact that there is large number of Spanish millionaires who disappeared exactly after 2004 tsunami leaving no relatives and who deposited exactly 10.8 millions – that fact is telling me there is something wrong here.
        Spain has a population of 46 million people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain). If it was all true – can’t they find someone in Spain or at least somewhere closer to Spain rather than places like Canada, Australia or New Zealand? I’ll never believe that.
        And the signature in the letter is not done by pen, it’s obviously printed by color copier.

    1. Brian Trenbath

      We received exactly the same letter on 8th March about a sudden inheritance following a Tsunami death!! (but with a different deceased name), here in Australia. It was nice, for a few minutes, to think of all the money we could give away to needy friends.

  133. I too have received this letter but mine has the letterhead of a reputable law firm in Spain (Gamon Economista y Abogados). I have contacted them and gave them the address and phone number of this Paco Vasco in the hope that they can do something with Interpol.

  134. Received my letter today: Company FCC Aboados, barrister Javier Matesanz.

    Added this note: “I am sending via Snail mail from Lisbon Portugal, because I came here for a job seminar, …..etc. etc.”

  135. Hi all,
    My name is Carlos and I live in New Zealand, I have received the same letter but from a company called FCC abogados y economistas.
    Again, although the company is from Spain, the envelope came from Portugal.
    Cheers.

  136. My father also received this letter and fortunately called me before acting on it. His was from Paco Vasco, Gamon Economistas.

  137. We live in Alberta, Canada & we recieved this letter also. After inquiries with our Lawyer & the RCMP ….we have ripped up this and are telling our family NOT to be taken in by this fraud either….puzz

  138. My husband received one of these today from Paco Vasco ESQ from Gamon Economistas y Abogados. This letter is sure making the rounds.

  139. I also received the exact same letter today, sent from Paco Vasco ESQ from Gamon Economistas y Abogados, also in a blank envelope with a postal stamp from Portugal. Will notify the authorities here; thanks all for sharing!

  140. reveived my inheritance letter today….apparently my Irish relatives immigrated to Spain.
    If someone related to me had 8,6 million to leave I am sure that I would know there name birthday favorite food and pet.:-)

    The Law Firm is Gamon Economista Y Abogados.

    My Barrister is Paco Vasco.

    My response is adios assholo

  141. The letter has finally reached the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The letter is identical except the names have been changed to hide the guilty. Thank you Evert for posting your letter. I thought it was a scam and wanted to know if any else had posted the letter – otherwise I would have. Now I don’t have to re-invent the wheel.

  142. I received today the same letter, except from a different lawyer (Barrister Paco Vasco) and law firm (Gamon Economistas Y Abogados), and they used the Canadian public records. The amount was for $8.6M (EIGHT MILLION SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS) and the proposed split was 20% to charity, and an equal split of the remaining 80%. The rest is identical to your original posted letter. I have written to the law firm to see what they have to say about it…

    1. Thanks for writing your comment. My husband got the very same letter as you did-same letterhead, same $ amt.–the whole thing. Would be interested as to what the law company has to say about this. I am not all that computer literate, and surprised myself when I even came across this page, so if you could email me at [email address removed for your own privacy] when you hear back from the law office, I would sincerely appreciate this. I will notify the police in the Burlington, Ontario area. Cheers, Cip

      1. I got exactly the same letter today in Vancouver except from Perez Martinez. 4 days from Spain. I didn’t like to hear that they got my contact information from Canada records. I’ve notified the Anti-Fraud centre.

  143. I have received a similar letter today ( 31-01-2011) They are targeting Canadians . We should be really proud of us !!!

  144. I received the exact letter 2 days ago. The only difference was the name of the law firm and the lawyer’s name represented. Otherwise, word per word is identical. I’m so glad for these forums for this information, as my family is from Barcelona, Spain originally. Thanks!!!

  145. I received the same exact letter from Jose Moreno Blanco in amount of $14.8 mil with my last name misspelled. In fact it’s my husband last name which was misspelled. So I would not have such relatives that lived in Spain. I will call the authorities too.

  146. Hello

    I have also received a letter from Sebastian Martinez (Queensland, Australia) quoting the same amount ($10,800,000) from a late client. Will pass letter onto authorities.

    1. Good idea 😎

      Oh, and if they happened to use the name of a legitimate law firm (Google can probably tell you), you may want to inform them as well. In my case the law firm whose name was abused was very interested in hearing about the matter.

  147. I got the following reply from the law firm:

    Dear evert,

    Thank you for this information, we got this same report last week, that
    some person are patrating then self to be lawyer from firm sending people
    inheritance letter, the police is investigating on this issue so we will
    like you to forward across to us the copy of the letter you received so
    that we can also present it to the police authority so that this scammers
    can be apprenhed by the police.

    Regards
    Maria Luisa

  148. Tracy Staunton

    Hello,

    I too received the same letter but it was apparently from a Sebastian Martinez. I have since called a friend of mine on my local police force.

    1. recived a letter from ” barrister jonathan, andrew kalyan moroka” a attorny and expert in legal claims, i know my grammer isnt the best but in the letter there was a lot of doble spaces. and if you go on to read if is days i will get half of 7 million and the other half will go to the attorney and his wife , just pay attention every one would love to have 7 million dollars but if it sounds too good to be true it must be and lets face it lol i dont have any famliy that was on a plane flying to south africa.

      1. I also received a letter from barrister Dominico Diesi Santiago law firm Alejandro & Socios Servicios Legales which I googled and was unable to locate. Letter very similar to the others. The inheritance was 10.8M that he said would split 50 50 so 5.4M each These people are really something else I have received numerous e-mails about lotteries inheritances etc.Really wish it was ligit cause who couldn’t use an extra 5M LOL

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

reduction