Marc Smiths

Poor Marc Smiths. He has won millions with his lucky Glistening Golden Coin.

But he writes that he must be rid of the coin during the sixth month or he will lose everything in a series of incredibly bad luck.

Mr Smiths writes that he was down on his luck when he played the slot machines and out came the lucky Glistening Golden Coin.

That’s when he remembered an old clairvoyant recently telling him that he would soon come into possession of a lucky coin. The coin belonged to a prince who made his phenomenal fortune in just five months. But the coin was stolen by a thief, who also became rich before destiny turned against him in the seventh month.

Now Marc, his wife and three children must rid themselves of the coin within a month. So the family looked up an on-line directory and came up with your name.

And all they want in an effort to avoid losing everything is $50!

Oh please! Couldn’t the scammers think up a more convincing tale than this? If you were at risk of losing all your newfound wealth by holding on to the coin, why not just give it to a friend or even a homeless person? Why write to somebody half way around the world who may not even reply! And why, when you have millions, would you insist on asking for $50 in return for the coin? Are we supposed to feel sympathy for Mr Smiths and his three children?

This is a very ham-fisted attempt to con you out of your money by trying to empathise with your circumstances while, at the same time, trying to illicit sympathy for the plight of the Smiths family.

This so-called “battler-made-good” even lets you pay your $50 by credit card! How many people do you know have a credit card facility?

Read the fine print and it states that this letter is a commercial proposition and there is no guarantee of results. If you respond, your name could be passed on to other companies.

The letter was postmarked from France with a return address in England.

Do not respond to this letter.