Thank you, Barrister Mark Smith at the United Nations. Or not, as the case may be.
Publication:
FCRO Subsection:
Monday, 10 August, 2020 - 03:30
You just know it's going to be a fraud when the subject line reads "[email address], KINDLY GET BACK TO ME ASAP!!!"
When the "from" is a pretentious name for a law firm ('SMITH GLOBAL LAW') and the address an obviously fictitious "Smithlegaloffice@Un.org" The deal is almost sealed. That final nail in the coffin of the approach is the return address: Smithlegaloffice@mail.ru . If he'd sent from that, our filters which automatically delete undelivered and unread items from mail.ru would have meant it didn't reach its target.
But we're glad it did - for it's a demonstration of the cyclical nature of fraud. This is a genuinely vintage classic.
Hello [email address],
I am a Lawyer by profession and my name is Mark Smith. I am
contacting you because you share the same last name with a
deceased client of mine who died few years ago. He left behind a
lot of bank deposits with no will to mention a next of kin.
According to the laws of England and Wales, section 46 of the
Administration of Estates Act of 1925 (with subsequent
amendments).I have been in recent communication with the banks
where he has these deposits and they have made it abundantly
clear that I should provide any of his relatives to come forward
and claim his money.
It is my plan therefore to present you as a relative to my late
client so that his deposit can be transferred to you legally by
virtue of the fact that you share the same last name and I can
easily present you as his relative. I will make this presentation
possible as it is my sole responsibility as the legal
Administrator and I will guide you all the way until his funds
are released to you. We shall be sharing the proceed of this
claim equally if you accept to work with me. I will share more
details with you upon your positive response to my email. I hope
to hear from you soon.
Best Wishes,
Bar.Mark Smith
Principal Partner
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It's almost tempting.
So here's more reasons to know it's fake:
It originates at 216.180.152.178 which the domain un.org does not designate as a permitted sender. The IP address is identified as mail.fidessolutions.com. There is only a "coming soon" notice at that address - suggesting it's a WordPress site with e-commerce capability. It is not associated with the security consultancy which has the web address of fides-solutions.us nor several other similarly named businesses.
Fides is Latin and, roughly, means honesty. Giggle now.
