I worked with a colleague (Hi Jerry B) who managed overseas trade mission trips to China in the early 1990’s. He often explained that in China what is referred to as ‘face’; behaving with honour, respect and trust, was hard-earned and even more so for foreigners. British business owners and Chief Executives often had to make two maybe three separate trips to China to go to the same factories and meet the same people just to earn the trust needed to have what would be their first introductory and proper business meeting.
So imagine my surprise when this letter – complete with a first class stamp on the envelope – arrived at my home the other morning. It appeared to be from an apparently trustworthy figure holding the position of Associate Financial Officer of Yinhua Fund Management. Writing with news of how I could get my hands of no less than 1 Million American Dollars!
But then my heart sank. Even setting aside that English was obviously not Sek Tsu’s first language, the incongruous facts painted a confusing picture. The letter erroneously dated August 2015, hinted that the death of a client of the managed fund somehow created an opportunity for me to simply claim this enormous sum. But he had been dead for 13 years, so why so long before Sek Tsu (which in my head seemed easier to pronounce as Sexy Sue) figured out some Machiavellian scheme to pass on or share the fortune? Equally bizarre, that simply sharing the deceased’s surname would somehow alone unlock the fabulous prize.
Sexy Sue’s ‘perfected plans’ seemed less perfect and more worrisome when it was explained that all I had to do was contact her on what appears to be her personal email. Of course, what I was really itching to do was send an email explaining that as I was only 12-years old, my Mum and Dad would be upset with me for inviting a stranger from China called Sek Tsu (which my pretend parents would of course pronounce as Sexy Sue) into our home!
On a more serious note, this ‘scam’ letter periodically does the rounds; see a warning posted to Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scottishlocalauthorityinvestigators/posts/1684221388462764
I’ve sent a note to my local police station to warn other residents and have been advised that unfortunately some people do fall foul of these scams and pay the perpetrators thousands of pounds. These fake entreaties shouldn’t be taken seriously and knowing what they are it’s sometimes best just to laugh them off. So see how James Veitch did this in his TED Talk ‘This is what happens when you reply to spam email’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QdPW8JrYzQ (Duration: 9 mins 48 sec)
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