A barrister from Newcastle

I was sitting in my desk when Mrs. Blantosky came into the library and addressed my boss while I hid in the seat trying to look inconspicuous. We all know Mrs. Blantosky's in the field, the older patron who wants you to read her prescription or give her medical advice. I was scrunching in my chair then retreated to the bathroom.

Later the head librarian gave me the printout from Mrs. B. Apparently, a well loved Englishman from Newcastle had passed away and Mahmud Kasinki, a barrister, wanted to have Mrs. Blantosky's passport information so he could help the beloved widow of the beloved Englishman find his death certificate.

I put on my library scowl. It's a scam. I could not find the barrister listed on the Internet and his e mail was mahummadbarrister@yahoo.com An English barrister who would use Yahoo.com as his e mail address.

My boss informed our patron that she thought it was a scam and advised against sending a copy of her passport information to the barrister in England.

They should have a class in library school on developing the library scowl. It also comes in handy when you are trying to look busy. One web site on scams is this one. One thing librarians should be good at is advising vulnerable people of internet scams. We get enough practice.