Kingston & Strathmore

A letter from Kingston & Strathmore is recycling a scam last seen in 2007 when Imperial Imports offered the same shonky deal.

The letter says you have been selected as a cash award recipient in the US$10,000 cash award international sweepstakes to introduce fine products from Kingston & Strathmore. That’s not all. You’re also the lucky recipient of a genuine 22 carat gold plated pen and pencil set mounted with 5 genuine Austrian crystals allegedly worth $295.

All you have to do is return the enclosed document with a small fee of $35 for mounting the crystals and engraving initials and $5 for shipping and handling.

It’s a typical prizes and lotteries scam. If you read the fine print you’ll see the only guaranteed cash prize is US$1. There are only two US$10,000 prizes and three US$2,500 prizes. 

The real aim of the letter is to flog you the pen set for $40. Is it worth it? Unlikely. Kingston & Strathmore are supposed to be one of the largest engravers in the world, but a closer investigation revealed only warnings about their scam.

The fine print warns that this promotion might be used in different ‘creative presentations’ and your details may be passed on to other companies. This means you will get more shonky offers like this.

Fortunately you can get your name removed from the mailing list by writing to the company. Just follow the instructions in the fine print on the back of the ‘Authorized Discount Claim Form’.