GSM promotion / Barrister Richard Brooks

[Unregistered]

i have recieved correspondence in regards to a united kingdom/spanish gsm mobile promotion in which it stated i had won $170,000 euros which is $339,926 aud involving a sweepstakes draw i have kept all of the correspondence between me and the organisation involved as i am concerned it is a scam although it seems legitimate as they have sent me alot of thourough detailed information including a letter of guarantee from law chambers and companies uk barrister richard brooks and have also sent me copies of financial secretarys details including permiso di residencia and generalitat valenciana conselleria de sanitat sistema nacional de salut tarjeta provisional photocopies. According to the spanish law act 1982 ref 23.6 they are not legible to lay a hand on the money because it has been declared to be $170,000 to the ministry of economica y hacienda in spain(lottery board of spain) and that i am responsible for covering the tranfer fees as i am the sole beneficiary of the money which is only $1,109 aud to the financial secretary via a western union money transfer i have no problem doing this if it is proven to be real but how do i find out i am in the process of consulting legal advise in Australia but the more help i can get the better it will be for in the short term i am a pensioner with two children and money is very tight so the winfall would be life changing for me and my family. Can you advise?

[Lawbird Lawyer]

Dear Sir/Madam,

It's obvioulsy a scam, yes.

Please read the following threads on the matter:

Careful with Scammers Posing as Spanish Lawyers - 18th March 2009

Public Warning.-Scammers passing themselves off as Spanish lawyers and law firms - Fri, Mar 13th 2009

Lottery Fraud: Yet Another Scam - 24th of September 2001

Is the 'El Gordo Lottery Sweepstake Company' a genuine company



9 Tips on How to Determine if an Offer is a Scam
October 17th, 2008 @ 14:10 by admin


We are receiving a dozen queries every day asking about the legitimacy of certain offer, generally received by email or over the phone after a cold call. Unfortunately, we cannot analyze case by case, and therefore will provide a set of useful hints which will help you evaluate the legitimacy of the company or individual yourself.

The list below is provided in no particular order:

1. Is the domain name old enough? By means of a Whois search you can find out when the domain name was registered. If it’s only a few weeks old, be suspicious.

2. Are they using mobiles? – If the phones used as contact numbers are mobile numbers instead of land lines, it’s definitely not a good sign. In Spain, mobile numbers start by +34 6..

3. Have you been contacted out of the blue? – If you where cold called, or received an email from someone you don’t know, ask yourself why these people have your contact details.

4. Are you being requested to pay money upfront? This is the single most worrying point if it comes in conjunction of with one or more of the above.

5. Are they requesting you a money transfer through Western Union or similar?

6. Is the offer too good to be true? If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

7. Is the company properly registered? – Although it’s something positive if they can provide you with company registration details, you shouldn’t give this point too much importance. Fraudsters have been registering companies for decades with the sole purpose of deceiving (e.g. dozens of companies where incorporated by fraudsters to conduct the infamous Timeshare Resale Scam)

8. Is the address for their offices correct? – Not sure why, fraudsters tend to provide you with fake addresses which don’t really exist. Check any of the online street directories and find out if the address provided is correct.

9. Something strange about their names? Funny names such as “Woley Fernandez” or “Barrister Perez Santos ESQ” are names made up by Nigerians conducting 419 advance fee scams (the terms “Barrister” or “ESQ” don’t exist in Spanish law). Also, fraudsters tend to cite fake organisms such as “The Ministry of Finance” or “The Security Company”.

10. What others are saying – Use search engines to find information about the company. Try putting the company in inverted comas, and add terms like “scam” or “fraud”. The company or individual you mention might have already been reported online as fraudsters by other people.

Needless to say, the above list shouldn’t be taken as definitive, nor the absolute legitimacy o illegitimacy of a company established based on one or more of the above points. You can use it, however, to personally evaluate the risk of the transaction.

My recommendation is that you never pay any moneys upfront if you have been contacted out of the blue. However, if you have to, before doing so always suggest the use of an escrow company (chosen by you) to hold the funds until the product or service has been delivered. If they refuse, I recommend that you back off.

Always remember; have a lawyer analyze the transaction before making any up-front payments.

[Unregistered]

Hi my name todd from Australia , a mate if mine has had barristers from spain contact hime with letters from the hi court of spain saying he inheritted 9,500,000.00 .All corrisponance has been by fax and phone only. He has paid the barrister $6,500.00 to give to the bank as some sort of Gratitude to release the money owing.
I think it is a scam
how do I check there credentials
and if a scam report it to whom
Not likely to recover $6500.00 either is there
thanks for your help
Todd

[ifv]

Hi Todd. I confirm your worst suspicions. This is nothing but a scam of the Advance-fee Fraud type.

It's going to be almost impossible to recover the funds already paid. I suggest that your friend reports these people to your local police office. I don't know how it works in Australia, but in the UK it is dealt with by the Metropolitan Police.

Regards

[Unregistered]

thanks for help I will pass this info
todd

[Unregistered]

i had a letter to my house for a mystery shopper. the check was for $2,950. I was to go to Wester Union and send $2,750 to a place in london. the chesk was no good. thank god I called the bank first. The emails were from a Richard Brooks, and the money was to go to a Micheal Brooks in london. People please watck out for this new scam!!!!!!!