BEWARE

This seemed like a great windfall. According to Paramount Law Boston, a mystery buyer wanted to snap up some company shares owned by reader Roger Wingate and would pay £115,000 for them.

This is known as advance fee fraud and the offer is just a prelude to demands for money to cover supposed fees and taxes. Many of these fake law firms like to claim to be based in Boston, USA, presumably because they think it lends an air of respectability. The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a warning about Paramount Law Boston, saying: “This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK.”