The public is well used to receiving scam emails, some supposedly from Nigeria where there’s a promise of a fortune and they are asking for bank details.

There are also so many other scams involving phone calls and through websites, where some people buying a car, can be taken in by a hoax seller.

It can also happen to businesses and this week the PSNI have warned business owners to be aware of a sophisticated credit card scam which entails someone purporting to buy large quantities of stock and a number of credit cards are used to make payment. Then a local independent courier will be sent to collect the stock.

However a local man was tempted to believe a letter he received personally from someone claiming to be a Hong Kong bank manager offering him millions of pounds from an estate belonging to a dead relative. The relative’s name did mean something as it was actually the name of his father’s cousin who had lived in various parts of the world.

While the man who received the letter felt it sounded genuine enough at first glance, it soon began to unravel, as it was claimed the man died as a result of a road accident in Hong Kong whereas he died from natural cases and was buried in Fermanagh.

He has gone public with this to warn others, especially vulnerable people about the dangers of unsolicited mail.

The Citizens’ Advice Bureau say scams are schemes to con people out of money and if anyone has lost money by giving information to someone they don’t know, they should report it to Action Fraud, the National Fraud Reporting Centre.

While it can be difficult spotting a scam, fraudsters are often very cunning to catch people out.

When receiving a letter or opening an email from someone you don’t know, ask yourself a number of questions; are they asking for personal details such as bank account numbers? are you being asked to give them an answer quickly? are some of the details vague such as a P.O. Box number for an address? are there spelling or grammatical errors in the letter?

If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

If you can concur with any of the above, then it is more than likely a scam. Vulnerable people are being conned out of millions of pounds simply because they replied to a letter or an email that they suspected was correct.

If you are being offered money, usually as a result of an inheritance from someone who has died abroad, beware of the consequences ahead. Report it to the authorities who have a network of international agencies to help trackdown the fraudsters.