When Enoff got home, he opened the envelope, removed the letter and started to read:
Dear Mr. Enoff:
My name is Len Trick, Barrister for Corporate Fiduciary Ltd. My client was a successful and an accomplished man, who made a large fortune before his sudden death. Since then, I have made several inquiries through your U.S.A. Embassy to locate any of my client's extended relatives, but this exercise has proven ineffective. After several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his lineage on the Internet and came across your name.
To my greatest astonishment, I discovered that you bear the same surname as my late client who was born in the U.S.A. and immigrated to the UK in 1946. Convinced that my late client is a relative of yours, I decided to contact you with these facts before me.
My late client was an influential and a wealthy businessperson in the oil sector and lived in London for most of his life. He left behind a deposit of fifteen million pounds in his account at a commercial bank in London. After the death of my client, his bankers contacted me, and as his attorney, I had to find his next of kin to inherit his funds.
The board of directors of his bank adopted a resolution to provide his next of kin the payment of this money within thirty working days or forfeit the funds to the bank as abandoned property. The bankers had planned to invoke the abandoned property decree of 1996 to confiscate the funds after the expiration period given to me.
By virtue of my closeness to the deceased, I am very much aware of my client's financial standing and the bank account he managed. I feel it would be legally proper to present you as the next of kin of my deceased client, so that you can receive the funds left in his bank account.
Therefore, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased since you bear the same surname and birthplace. As I mentioned, the proceeds of his bank account are worth fifteen million pounds. I shall assemble all the necessary legal documents that will back up the claim.
All we require is your honest cooperation to enable us to see this deal completed. I guarantee that all claims are legitimate and will protect you from any breach of law.
Please respond by e-mail or fax. We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
Mr. Len Trick, Barrister
Corporate Fiduciary Ltd.
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: +00 000 000 0000
After reading that letter, Enoff did not know whether to jump for joy or become a skeptic. It sounded almost too good to be true. He never heard his parents talk about any family member leaving the U.S.A. to live in the UK, decided to call his mother and asked if she knew of any relatives living there. She mentioned that his father had a half-brother who shared the same father but had no idea where he was or if he was still alive.