I'm in the money!

A while ago, I received a very exciting email. It went as follows;

From: Barrister David Smith
Subject: Your Inheritance!

Contact Bar. David Smith for your (USD$30,100,000.00) from Late
Engr Jurge Krugger's Inheritance in the Codicil and last testament
to his WILL.

EMAIL:(bar.davids@yahoo.com.hk) for more details

Now, I must admit that at first I thought this might be a scam. But what if it wasn't? THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS! Obviously, I had to find out more;

Dear Mr.Smith,

Thank you for your email regarding the late Engr Jurge Krugger's inheritance. I am sorry to hear of his passing, but I must say I'm surprised to be included in his last will and testament. I'm not entirely sure our paths have ever crossed to be honest, but your email looks very official, so we must have at some point. Did he ever go walking in West Wales?

Whatever, despite the sad news of Mr.Krugger's passing, I am very excited about the USD$30,100,000. In the current economic climate every little helps. I would prefer to receive the money in British pounds if that's possible. Having done some simple calculations, I've worked it out as £18,435,361.90 which doesn't sound as impressive as USD$30,100,000, but nevertheless will come in very handy.

Please let me know what I need to do next.

Yours sincerely

Tim McSweeney


I went to bed that night with a slight feeling of excitement, but also quite a bit of pessimism. It was probably a big joke. This guy probably won't even get back to me. Imagine how I felt when, a day later, I got this;


Barristers' Chambers:
DAVID SMITH & ASSOCIATES

Attention: Tim McSweeney.,

Engr. Jurge Krugger was a very dedicated Christian who loved to give out. His great philanthropy earned him numerous awards during his lifetime. Late Engr. Jurge Krugger died on the 13th day of December 2004 at the age of 80 years, and his WILL is now ready for execution. According to him this money is to support your humanitarian activities and to help the poor and the needy in our society.

We want to acknowledge the receipt of your email in this chamber and also want you to know that you have absolute right to reject this WILL as much as you have the right to accept it as well. If you wish to turn it down then let me know so I can send you a WILL rejection form to fill and revert back to this office. I am not going to impose it on you but just doing my job here.

Also, understand that I don't know you neither have I met you before, but my contacting you is based on the recommendation of late Engr. Jurge Krugger.

Please re-confirm to us through the above stated email; your full contact details to include your full names and address telephone and fax number (if any). Any difference or discrepancies in the information provided by you will mean that I am contacting the wrong person and I will stop all communication with you out rightly.

We sincerely hope that the above requirement be sent to us sooner to enable us proceed with the documentation. Find attach copy of my identity card.

I await your prompt response..

Yours in service

BARRISTER DAVID SMITH

Hmm. Barrister David Smith appears to want all of my contact details to verify that I'm the right person. This could be a scam. To be fair, his English isn't that great. But, you never know, that might be some sort of legal shorthand. And, as the email implies, he had attached a copy of his identity card.

Looks trustworthy enough, doesn't he? And look, his I.D. card number is '001', so his was the first one issued in the entire company. In December 2005. A whole year after his client died. I'm sure there's a straightforward explanation for that. Even so, I still had some concerns and questions;

Dear David,

May I call you David? I'm not used to this sort of thing, and I'd feel a lot more comfortable if we dispensed with the formalities.

I am flattered that Mr.Krugger thought of me when deciding to whom to pass on his fortune, but I'm not sure about the 'humanitarian activities' you mentioned. I did once give £50 to Comic Relief, and have stopped in the street to talk to a girl from Save the Whales, but never got round to filling out the form she gave me. I'm worried that Mr.Krugger may have exagerrated my contribution to the 'poor and needy' in our society. Nevertheless, I feel I can't let the big man down, and if his dying wish was for this money to be used to help the less privileged, then that's how it shall be spent.

I'm not entirely comfortable with emailing my details however. Is there any other way I can send proof of identification?

Thanks

Tim

PS That is a very nice photo on your ID card. Very smart.



I'll let you know what David says tomorrow.