The outrageous promise is part of the filter
A message offering a share of a royal fortune sounds so implausible that many readers dismiss it immediately. That reaction can help the scammer. The people who reply despite the warning signs are more likely to keep engaging, so the sender spends follow-up effort on a smaller pool of potential victims rather than trying to persuade every recipient.
This is sometimes called screening: the opening pitch helps sort readers by how willing they are to take the bait. A wildly improbable story may attract fewer replies than a polished, believable one—but those replies can come from people who are unusually receptive to the next steps.
The fortune is only the first step
After someone responds, the story can shift from a miraculous windfall to practical obstacles: paperwork, transfer arrangements, taxes, or other supposed costs. The recipient may be asked to provide personal or financial information, or to pay a fee to release money that does not exist. Each exchange can make the request feel more like a process already underway, even though the promised fortune remains fictional.
The scam also offers a simple emotional hook: a stranger claims that a life-changing reward is available, but only if the recipient acts and cooperates. That combination of enormous gain and apparent procedural friction gives the sender room to keep inventing reasons for another reply or payment.
Why the old format survives
Email makes it cheap to send the same pitch to many people, while a tiny number of successful conversations can make the effort worthwhile. The wording may look dated, but the underlying tactic is adaptable: attract attention with a windfall, find responders, then build trust and pressure in private correspondence. The fortune is imaginary; the screening process is very real.
