Inheritance scam is 150 years old

Mrs J.H. writes: I am sending you a letter we have received which to me has ‘scam’ written all over it. My husband and I are in our 80s, but we are not stupid. MANY thanks for sending me the letter you received, posted in this country but supposedly from a Texas bank official calling himself ‘Ronald Delgado’. He claims to have found that someone of your surname died in 2008, leaving $5.6million (about £4.6million) but with no family to inherit it. He wants you to pose as a relative, claim the cash, and then share the loot with him.

This fake inheritance scam is not new. Anyone who takes the bait and replies will be told that to get the fictional inheritance they must first pay taxes, legal fees, and even bribes. Then the fraudsters simply disappear.

But what was news to me was the discovery of just how old this scam really is. Making enquiries in the US, I found a record of a court case in 1936, where 28 people were charged with fraud after pocketing $3 million from victims named Baker, who had been told they could claim against the estate of someone of the same name.

And evidence was given that the scam had already been operating for about 70 years. So, well done you for not falling for it. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.