AN elderly Duns resident was on the receiving end of a cruel scam last week, when he received a letter claiming that he had won £500,000.
The letter guaranteed the named recipient was the sole winner of the half million pound prize, and promised that as soon as the enclosed Financial Transfer Document required for payment was returned - within seven days, along with a claiming fee o
f £14.95, the cash prize cheque would be sent to him by priority courier services.
The letter claimed to be from the office of Charles Hamilton Sr, Controller at Hamilton Moore & Associates, and gave an address in Canada.
The gentleman in receipt of the letter, who did not want to be named, said that when he first read it he initially felt euphoric, but that soon subsided and reality hit when he saw the request for his bank details and the payment required. The 'prize winner' then got in touch with The Berwickshire News, in a bid to warn others in the area who may be susceptible to the scam. He said: "We're old, my wife is badly ill and we are vulnerable people. If others like us have been targeted, they may act on the letter before realising it is a con, they could loose everything."
On further investigation, it seems a scam in this name has been going on for some time, with potential victims spread across the UK.
A number of comments regarding Hamilton Moore and Associates have been posted on consumer websites Complaintsboard.com and ripoffreport.com.
One says: "Today received (again) nice but suspicious letter that i have won £500,000 which will be paid to me by certified cheque and the payment day will be May 17, 2009, but only if i respond immediately (maybe while i'm still in shock?!).
"I only have to enclose payment of £19.95 allocation and processing fee. So many poor people have just enough money to pay bills and buy some food, and they have never heard of scams, so they send maybe their last £19.95 hoping for a brighter future which never comes because some cheaters have it instead. You should be so ashamed of yourself 'Charles Hamilton'!"
Another says: "I recently received a sweepstakes letter from Hamilton Moore and Associates in Toronto. In this letter I was informed that I was the 'sole recipient' of a £490,000 prize and they had been desperately trying to reach me to inform me of my winnings. I was told that to claim my prize I must post £19.95 to the company in the envelope provided.
"The worst thing about this is not everyone will know better than to send these people their money and many will be sending them their account details and/or credit card details."
Katey Anderson, of Scottish Borders Council's Trading Standards department, warned people never to give out their bank details. She said: "Unfortunately if it sounds too good to be true it usually is. We can provide advice to those people who get these letters. "
Anybody wishing to seek such advice can do so by contacting Consumer Direct on 08454 040506. This government-funded advice service has regionally based advisors specially trained to give practical advice on consumer issues.
