Don't Fall For This Bogus Inheritance Scam, Prosecutor Warns

The scammers are at it again.

Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato is urging residents not to respond to a phony mailing bearing the logo of TD Bank informing them of a possible inheritance.

"In the past week, there have been several reports of local residents receiving this letter, which is nothing more than another version of the "Nigerian Scam" utilizing company symbols located on the Internet to develop these types of documents," Coronato said. "

Coronato says the letter below is a "classic example" of the scam.

The letter claims to be from "TD Canada" with a return address on the envelope for Costco Wholesale, he said.

The letter informs recipients not to disclose the accounts to anyone unless the money is received, which Coronato calls a "huge red flag."

"They promise access to inheritance money because of a similar last name, which no legitimate company would ever actively seek to disperse," he said.

The con artists sending the letters are usually out of the United States. They use internet-based websites and programs to mask their real phone numbers and locations, Coronato said.

"This makes the investigation and prosecution difficult and recovering your money virtually impossible," he said.

Anyone who receives these documents should report them to the Federal Trade Commission website www.ftc.gov. If victimized. call the Office of the Ocean County Prosecutor at 732-929-2027.