Victoria police have sent out a scam warning after at least six people reported receiving letters that stated a person with the same last name as them had died and an inheritance was available.
Police said at least six people have told them that they have received letters through the mail that advise that a person with the same last name as the recipient has died and left over 23 million pounds in the bank. The letters tell the recipient to reach out to the bank so they could receive 90 per cent of the funds, with 10 per cent going to charity.
The letters were addressed to each recipient individually and delivered to their residences. However, the recipients of the letter are asked to reply via an email address.
A scam inheritance letter. Credit: VicPD
Police said no one in Victoria or Esquimalt has fallen victim to the scam. However, police are reminding residents that a bank would never offer anyone money in this way.
“Recently, we haven’t seen scammers use hand-delivered mail as a method to target potential victims so while one might believe that the letter is legitimate, please know it’s not,” VicPD said in a release.
For more information on the scam or to report fraud online, visit http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm.
CHEK News
