Who wants to be a millionaire? Not one 78-year-old Dunedin man, who has received more than 100 letters offering him millions of dollars in the past two years.
He has also been offered cures for baldness, erectile dysfunction and psoriasis, as well as a photographic memory and the ability to cure illness, but all the Abbotsford septuagenarian really wants to know is how these people got his address.
The letters are written in English, but come mainly with Asian postmarks and promise money or a "guaranteed" chance to win riches, in one case up to $1.3 billion in a draw, in return for a small payment, usually $30 to $75.
Often, a credit-card number and signature are also requested.
In most cases, the money must be posted to a Dutch address.
The Dunedin man said he had never posted any money, but as a "bit of a collector" he liked to keep the letters, which arrived most weeks - last Saturday he received five.
The letters were unsolicited, he said, and he could not understand why he was being targeted.
He did not use the internet and it was not installed in his home.
"All I can think of is that about 20 to 15 years ago, I was a competition freak. I entered everything going and won a lot. I missed a lot, too, but that all ended about 15 years ago."
The letters were not so much a concern as a curiosity.
"I don't care really - keeps a postie in a job. But I'd be interested to know if other people get them too. It's a bit of a mystery."
