When you live in a country that claims to be against corruption and wrong doing that when you receive an official looking letter (such as the one above) you really need to act because surely it is all above board. Isn’t it?

This letter says we need to pay $87 (or $122 if after 13 April) to get a copy of our property deed. It implies that this is an official document from a government department and that we need to act accordingly.

It turns out that this is not an official letter. When you read the letter you see it says “Record Retrieval is not affiliated with the county in which your deed is filed in, nor affiliated with any government agencies. This offer serves as a solicitation for services and not to be interpreted as a bill due”.

At the bottom of the letter it further adds that “you can obtain a copy of your grant deed or other record of title from the county recorder of the county where your property is located in for up to $87” which is true. In fact in our case Harris County charges $5 to get a copy of any record. Of course if you’ve just moved in to your property (which is what triggers this solicitation) then you will have a copy anyway.

I bet this sort of thing is illegal in Nigeria.