Victim Location 02719
Type of a scam Phishing
I received a fax from someone posing as attorney John Bothwell of St. Catherines ON Canada who claimed his client had died 8 years prior, intestate, but with a large (9.8 million dollar) "permanent" life insurance policy. The deceased happened to have my surname and nationality and coincidentally they used the first name of my cousin, who I hadn’t seen in 40 years. They claimed I could collect this insurance if I could be determined to be the next of kin of the deceased. The ‘urgency’ of the situation was that the abandoned property (the insurance) would soon be turned over to the state.The ‘deal’ was to be a 45-45% split, non-negotiable and 10% to ‘charity’.
I was able to contact my cousin to verify that he’s alive.
Searching ‘John Bothwell’ resulted in 2 different but real looking law firm websites, both in St. Catherines, with 2 different addresses and phone numbers, neither of which were answered (the one that returned a call was from a BC area code and was the same as the one in the fax). An email inquiry resulted in a response after a few days. The response was slightly believable but contained some minor grammatical errors, somewhat inappropriate word choices and nonsensical sentences and was an obvious attempt to sound ‘lawyerly’ by choosing words that sounded important but are not really legal terms. At this point I searched for the specific format of the scam and saw a reference to a similar but slightly different scenario here on BBB.org. Thank you.
The text of the email response from ‘Mr. Bothwell’:
Thanks for your response to my fax. Yes, it is a genuine fax from me, I contacted you personally since I am unable to locate the right relative of my late client Late Mr. , so that we can work together and process the transfer of policy to your name since you have the same surname and nationality with late Mr. who was America citizen but unfortunately passed away here in Canada 8 years ago.
Since Late Mr life insurance policy stipulates that if no one comes for the claim after 8 years of death, the proceeds of this estate would be moved to abandon property of the state of Ontario Canada. Therefore, I decided to pursue this claim since I have all the documentations to back up this claim with your assistance instead of allowing the Government to confiscate this insurance benefit.
To highlight you on the procedure, I have perfected the modality for the claim of this claimant and since you have the same nationality with my deceased client you stand a chance of doing this transaction with me. It is important to emphasize that, for transaction of this magnitude; sincerity and confidentiality shall be paramount. I repose my trust in you in the hope that once we achieve our aim securing the release of the legacy to you, that the sharing ratio of 45% for you, 45% for me and 10% to charity will not be renegotiated under any circumstance.
To achieve this objective, I will depose an Affidavit of Support before a Court of competent jurisdiction testifying that you are the next of kin to my deceased client, and with the Affidavit in support consequently apply to the Probate Registry for the letter of Administration of the deceased Estate in accordance with the inheritance law. This is necessary based on the fact that there was no Will left behind by my client.
Secondly, I want you to know that there are legal procedures to follow in a transaction of this nature; there won’t be any problem to either you or me. I am a lawyer of repute with many years of experience so be assured that I know what to do and how to go about this transaction. I implore you to keep this transaction very confidential to yourself only, I believe with your co-operation and collaboration we must actualize our Objectives.
I will proceed to the court to swear affidavits in your favour as the next of kin to my late client Mr. for the claims, once I receive your consent.
More information will be conveyed to you as soon as I receive your urgent response. I once again assure you 100% Risk free in as much I will legally handle the process of this business to the conclusion.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
……
John Bothwell Law
Mr John Bothwell
Address: 43 Church St,
St Catharines, ON L2R 7E1
Phone: +1 (604) 755-4274
Fax: +1 647 849 3670
General Inquiries: [email protected]
John Bothwell: [email protected]
Alternative email: [email protected]
Website: www.johnbothwellca.com
John Bothwell Law
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