I notice today that someone has googled ‘lucy reeds barrister’ and has hit upon this blog. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been alerted of at least 2 emails purporting to come from me or someone with my name, one suggesting I run the canadian lottery and one suggesting I am a nigerian banker or handling the estate of someone from nigeria. It may surprise some of you to know that I am none of these things, but not as much as it surprised me to be asked whether or not I really did run the Canadian lottery and whether or not the recipient of the email should send money!
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These are SCAMS. They are nothing to do with me. I have heard of them before, and they often use the name of a barrister or a set of chambers (or some slightly mis-spelt version of it, so here I am ‘Lucy ReedS’), presumably to give the veneer of respectability. Frankly, no-one who can run a basic google search ought to be fooled by any of this, but apparently it works. I know of barristers and chambers who have received both phone calls and cheques (sent back obviously).
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The one cheering feature in all of this is that at least SOMEBODY out there believes that barristers are respectable and that their word can be trusted….Even if they are only scam merchants or the extremely gullible…
Hi!
Also I search for Your name, too. Thank U about this bog – will not disturbe U. Ofcourse, it’s nice to recievei info that U are winner of rather big sum of money, but ……..
Also, Good Luck!
brg
UPDATE:
This has now been reported to the Metropolitan Police and I am awaiting feedback (although sadly I suspect not a lot will happen).
Clearly this email has been sent out to large numbers of people, as 12 people have searched for ‘lucy reeds barrister’ today alone, and luckily have hit on this blog and hopefully will have worked out it is a scam. One of those googlers has posted above (Valdis).
If anyone wishes to report receipt of this email or is a victim of this scam, you need to report it to your local police station NOT the IWF (www.iwf.org.uk). If the police tell you to report it first to them this is incorrect, as the IWF deal with things like pornography online rather than internet fraud scams.
I’m not sure its appropriate to post my crime reference number online but if anyone is reporting this and wants to give the police my CAD no to cross-refer please contact me and I’ll pass it on to you.
Loo
I suspect this may be a double bluff on the part of the author of this blog.
According to probate documents recently lodged at the PRFD in London (open to public inspection) Lucy Reed is indeed the professional executor of the estate of a long departed Nigerian High Commissioner who left approximately US$950,000 in various bank accounts. Ms Reed has a duty to distribute the said sum to worthy individuals by 1st June 2008 whereafter the residual estate will pass bona vacantia to the state.
Those interested in a share of the estate should send detailed justifications to the author of this blog. A positive result is more likely if multiple submissions are made.
As an aside, she is in no way connected with the Canadian (or any lottery).
IMPORTANT NOTE to the intellectually or comedically challenged amongst you : DON’T take this seriously. IT’S A SPOOF. Unfortunately made significantly less funny by the fact that I have had to put this stupid warning at the bottom of it, but its a spoof nonetheless. I am broke and sending me emails will not result in the release of any funds – if I had ’em I’d pocket ’em. Thanks so much Ben! Loo
UH OH. Its circulating again – have today received more email from people asking if they should send money, and hits on this blog by people searching for ‘lucy reeds’.
PLEASE don’t send them any money. Its a scam.