Detective work

A letter arrived which didn't seem quite right. I was immediately suspicious of it when I saw the hand written envelope, it looks like a child has scrawled across most of it in large letters. I was expecting a letter from a young person. The logo at the top of the envelope and the franked postage mark didn't match up with the handwriting. Why would a company address an envelope in that fashion. Why wasn't the address printed. Almost correctly I may add, except that there hasn't been a 'South Humberside', for many years.

Inside, a single piece of plain A4 paper, no header, with my address in the top left hand corner, and a four paragraph typed letter. Name of sender at the bottom but no signature. On the back of the letter in the centre, 'Dear Ilona' in the same scrawly writing. Why, I wondered.

Reading through the letter, the first impression I got was the grammar isn't very good. I know mine is not perfect, but this is supposedly from someone who calls themselves a PRODUCER/DIRECTOR of a TV programme. The request was very brief, with minimal and vague details. The subject matter did catch my attention, and for a brief moment I was tempted to call the mobile number.

But then caution kicked in. Something in my brain said be careful. This letter could be from anybody, someone could have access to a franking machine which also prints the logo. My name was scrawled over the top of the postage frank, meaning franked first, addressed after. People from the media always email or telephone first because they want a quick reply, they don't go to the trouble of writing and posting a letter.

I am going to follow my gut instinct and not reply. I may be wrong, it may be a genuine request, and I might be missing out on something interesting. But balance that out with getting myself into a whole heap of trouble which could bring me grief, I would rather not bother. Scam or not, I am always on my guard.

Toodle pip.  ilona