Received a weird email... Is it fake?

[gritsar]

Quote:
My SO is a police officer. He always says thieves will work alot harder to steal your money then they'd have to work if they got real jobs.

 

[Lee]

This kind of scam has been around for a long time. Emphasis on the word SCAM.

 

[SarahFair]

I get them all the time...
Look at the one I got today

MANAGING PARTNER
Peter Frank & SOLICITORS
415 ROYAL LIVER BUILDING,
PIER HEAD, LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

NOTIFICATION OF BEQUEST

On behalf of the Trustees and Executor of the estate of Late
Engr.Reinhard Hermann, I once again try to notify you as my earlier
letter to you returned undelivered. I hereby attempt to reach you
again by this same email address on the WILL.

I wish to notify you that Late Engr. Reinhard Hermann made you a
Beneficiary to his WILL. He left the sum of Seventeen Million Five
Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($17,500.000.00 USD) to you in
the codicil and last testament to his WILL. This may sound strange and
unbelievable to you, but it is real and true. Being a widely traveled
man, he must have been in contact with you in the past or simply you
were recommended to him by one of his numerous Friends abroad who
wished you good.

Engr Reinhard Hermann until his death was a member of the Helicopter
Society and the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers. He had
a very good heart and was a philanthropist. His great philanthropy
earned him numerous awards during his life time. I.e.UNO, WHO, &
UNESCO.

Late Engr. Reinhard Hermann died on the 13th day of December, 2007.
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 your society. Please if I reach
you this time as I am hoping, endeavor to get back to me as soon as
possible to enable me conclude my job. I hope to hear from you in no
distant time.

Sincerely yours,
BARR.Peter Frank (ESQ).
P.Frank & SOLICITORS
MANAGING PARTNERS/SOLICITORS

I dont even know anyone out of the US...

 

[BearSwampChick]

"Then wanted to send MONEY for a free kitten - now that is odd"

They want to send you a check for waaay more than the amount, they tell you to cash the check, keep a nominal amount and then mail them the remainder. Then you get shafted, because the check is bogus and your bank holds you accountable for the missing funds. The same thing applies with the "Mystery Shopper" schemes.

 

[debilorrah]

I'm gonna say something that I PRAY doesn't offend anyone! South Africa and Nigeria are notorious for sending these things out. I saw a special on a news show a while back that showed warehouses full of people sending these emails. I mean hundreds of people, mostly children. DELETE IT!

 

[pbjmaker]

Quote:
We had a parent at the preschool where I worked get one of these. He thought it was real and they were trying to find out how to get a passport because the people needed a fax of their drivers liscense and their passport. I knew it was a scam but he was a pigheaded jerk who beat his wife and belittled his kid - so I was uncharacteristically immoral and didn't tell him.

 

[SarahFair]

I woulda let him go on a chicken chase too

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Actually to go into more detail, they said they wanted the kitten but wanted to pay me to ship her to Timbuktu or some such place. As if there aren't enough free kittens to go around the world, they have to import them from Podunk, Arkansas?!? I think not. Scam.

 

[purr]

good for you pbj. that's what would have done.
this is a scam. if its too good to be true ,its not true
And here they are appealing to your giving nature.Really they think we are all saps here lets prove we are not.
When I get stuff saying I won something in the mail I like to send back their self addressed stamped envelope with interesting things in it. like cigerette or cigar stubbs, bottle caps. used tissues and various other items its fun to see how creative I can get.And I put my junk mail flyers in there too.Be careful though no powders.

 

[Trollkiller]

Quote:
It looks to me that someone is building their site and doing a DVD and wants to make sure they have permission to use your photos.

I don't see the scam in it at all. They are not promising any payment for for the use of your photos. The best way to run a scam is to play to a person's greed. They have not done that.

Someone pointed out that your chicken house was not all that impressive, that may be why they want to use it as an illustration.

If I wanted to show people they can raise chickens, especially if I am dealing with those that may not be well educated, I would show them a simple to build coop, not a poultry palace.

My suggestion is to grant them license (permission) to use the pictures in the DVD and website. DO NOT transfer copyright. At best this is a non profit org that can't afford to pay for photo licenses or at worst they will sell the DVD and profit off of your photos.

If you are fearful that they may try to scam or phish for information I would be happy to act as a go between.