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But in order to receive their share, recipients are asked to forward identifying information and document scans that could subsequently be used for identity theft and robbing bank accounts.

'Scammers are constantly trying to dupe computer users into divulging sensitive information with the promise of big money,' said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. 'Using the late Sir Denis Thatcher's name is a sick trick designed to entice the unwary into falling for the scam.'

The email claims the recipient is to receive a share of £950,000 for their work with the poor and underprivileged - a ruse common to many 419 scams, so-called because of the 419 penal code in Nigeria, which they contravene.

Other examples of 419 email scams include a message claiming to come from a persecuted widow of the late Nigerian head of state, an associate of the massacred Nepalese royal family, and even an African astronaut stranded on the Mir spacestation.