Letter: Teach your parents to beware of scams

I just received a letter from a Spanish bank auditor notifying me of a wonderful financial opportunity. It seems that an American died leaving $25 million in a safety deposit box. This nice lady is willing to split it with me if I would claim to be a relative and give her some necessary personal information.

In response I offered to help her, but explained that my accountant had just died and had failed to send bills to our customers. I explained that we had certifiable accounts receivable valued at $748,000. However, because of turnaround time it would take eight weeks to collect. We needed a small amount of $20,000 to continue operating and I would gladly pay her five times that amount and help her with her plan when all was settled (after all what’s $20,000 next to $25 million?). Will she bite?

The real lesson here is: your mom and dad could get such an offer. Do they have the wisdom to see it for what it is? At the reading of the will, will the children discover that dad gave it all to the hospital or an animal orphanage in Tanzania?

Richland

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Letter: Teach your parents to beware of scams."