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Someone contacted me and said that someone with a similar last name died and left me a large amount of money. He gave me information and forms from a bank, and other pertinent information.

I then got a message that there is fee and that I need to send it before any money could be released to me. I checked and his office really exists but I think he just trying to pull a fast one.

What should I do?

Bob Baerker
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Armen
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    Also - how would someone with a 'similar' last name have money to leave for you? Do you think that if they can't find any related 'Smith's they just try to go down the alphabet and find a related 'Smiti'? – Grade 'Eh' Bacon Jan 30 '19 at 15:49
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    @Grade'Eh'Bacon not a dupe of that particular question because that was the ONE case in a million where it was legit. – stannius Jan 30 '19 at 17:16
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    First off you need to know whether you even have relatives in Canada. Just ask yourself, if they're supposed to be long-lost relatives, how do they even know about you and why would they bother leaving you any money. – pboss3010 Jan 30 '19 at 17:31
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    @stannius I removed the link so it won't close this one to answers, but the key is that the answer in that one does outline how to prove whether it is real or not. – Grade 'Eh' Bacon Jan 30 '19 at 17:47
  • @RemcoGerlich: The update to the question implies that but actually the answer from the OP gives the final status, which it that it wasn't: https://money.stackexchange.com/a/102011/366 – GS - Apologise to Monica Jan 31 '19 at 13:35
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    @RemcoGerlich I started the other thread, and can confirm that the inheritance was NOT a scam. There was an attempt by one of the deceased's relatives to persuade the other recipients that the distribution of the estate according to the laws of inheritance did not represent what the deceased actually wanted to happen, but the lawyers involved made it clear that there was no legal basis for that. – alephzero Jan 31 '19 at 14:21
  • Sorry! Missed the answer completely. – RemcoGerlich Jan 31 '19 at 14:25
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    Long lost relative situations do happen, but an uncle is normally a fairly close relationship. Can you check with the rest of your family or even public records to verify that this person is your uncle? – TimothyAWiseman Jan 31 '19 at 17:47
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    Your uncle "died in Canada", was he Canadian or did he go there for a short trip and died? Also, where are you? Is this an international thing or are you both in Canada? It would be relevant to know in order to suggest who to contact to verify the legitimacy of the situation. – Aubreal Jan 31 '19 at 17:56
  • @Grade'Eh'Bacon To be fair, occasionally separate branches of the same family Anglicize their names differently if they immigrate separately, even to one country. – Azor Ahai -him- Jan 31 '19 at 18:43
  • Hmm... Not so sure about this question everyone keeps quoting as an example of the time this wasn't a scam. What if that question is a legend - a carefully crafted yarn to seed SE with an example of a true inheritance story. This would then feed some doubt into anyone who encountered a genuine scam. They would think, "Gosh, it can happen sometimes... Maybe mine is true too!". Just remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet". – Oscar Bravo Feb 01 '19 at 07:43
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    If you had an uncle with this kind of money, you would already know about them. And if they died, you would have heard about it from your family. There is no need to confirm any of this with the financial institution - your own family should know if this is legitimate just by providing the alleged uncle's name. – Zibbobz Feb 01 '19 at 13:49
  • Without reading further than the first sentence - this is a scam. Proceeding to sentence #2 - you'll pay this "fee" and never hear from them again. Save your money, do not send them anything, do not contact them, and get on with your life. Best of luck. – Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні Feb 01 '19 at 16:34
  • Actually, once you pay the fee, you will hear from them again. They will contact you about your money shortly. Of course, there first is another, bigger fee to pay. And another and another and they keep getting bigger. Forever. What they do is pull you in slowly, using the fact that people feel invested and want to see through on their 'investment'. Of course you are never getting a penny anyway. – Stijn de Witt Feb 02 '19 at 01:29
  • This is not a duplicate of the linked question, they are related in subject matter (inheritance) only. That one was not a scam, whereas this one has all the hallmarks of most likely being one. – komodosp Feb 12 '19 at 13:30

7 Answers7

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If I had a legitimate reason to give to you $100,000 with a $500 fee, I would ask you if it is okay to take the $500 out of the $100,000, and if you agree, I'd pay you $99,500 without any cost for you.

Someone who wants to give you money doesn't ask for fees, they just deduct any cost from the money they give you. Same for lotteries, inheritances, tax returns, forgotten bank accounts and so on.

This is a scam.

TankorSmash
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gnasher729
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    There is at least one exception. If you win, say, a car, you may have to pay the taxes on the car before they can give it to you. However, you never accidentally win a car, without entering a contest to win a car. – stannius Jan 30 '19 at 23:05
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    @stannius Even in those cases, isn't there often a cash alternative to winning the actual car for that very reason? – jamesdlin Jan 31 '19 at 05:54
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    @jamesdlin It likely depends on the contest. But there will likely be a clause saying no cash prize before entering. But I would imagine for larger contests done by large companies that a cash equivalent is offered. – user64742 Jan 31 '19 at 06:48
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    @stannius then go pick up the car and pay cash. – DonQuiKong Jan 31 '19 at 10:18
  • @stannius It is, however, far more common to enter a contest to win a car than it is to actually win a car. That's a lot of opportunity for scammers to pose as contest officials to play this very same scam. – J... Jan 31 '19 at 14:30
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    @DonQuiKong is right. Why would you wire someone money and not pick up the car? Just go pick up the car and, when you confirm it is legit, signed all the papers, then you pay the money. There's no scenario where it benefits you to wire over some cash for a car that you won. – Nelson Jan 31 '19 at 14:30
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    Worth nothing that this scam has a name: Nigerian Prince, 419, Spanish Prisoner, or in general, the Advance Fee Scam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam – Endy Jan 31 '19 at 16:51
  • I agree in principle, but this isn't a case of one person wanting to give another their money. In many cases lawyers or other intermediaries are trusted to hand over large sums (say, the $100k) but don't have any access to it, so they can't simply deduct their fees from the amount handed over. – Aubreal Jan 31 '19 at 17:41
  • @jamesdlin that is sometimes true but often not. Occasionally, the prize-awarding organization pays the taxes (and that, too, is taxable); I think Omaze does this for all their car-prize contests. However, what I do think is true is that most of us (me included!) have so little experience winning non-cash prizes over $5000, that J is right, it's just another opportunity scammers gonna scam. – stannius Jan 31 '19 at 17:42
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    @stannius You are correct, but that is a physical item that is not easily divisible. When the item involved in the transfer is cash, it is almost always easier for everyone to deduct fees ahead of time and transfer only the remainder. Signatures might be required for the deduction, but providing additional cash ahead of time would be odd. – TimothyAWiseman Jan 31 '19 at 17:44
  • @AlexandreAubrey You are correct, but note that in that case you can expect the intermediary to be able to articulate exactly why they don't have access to it and why they can't just deduct it with proper approval (e.g. the money exists as a certified check that is not readily divisible and is sitting in my safe right now). – TimothyAWiseman Jan 31 '19 at 17:49
  • @stannius: I've heard that gameshows virtually never pay the taxes. As a result, if the winner can't afford the taxes, they "can't" transfer the car to the winner, and the winner walks away with nothing, saving the gameshow a ton of money. Super common. They also tend to do it in bulk. You have to pay the taxes on all of the winnings, or you don't get to keep any of it. – Mooing Duck Jan 31 '19 at 18:13
  • @MooingDuck it's actually an IRS regulation that they have to collect the taxes or pay them themselves. Whether any game shows use that to their advantage, I have no idea. – stannius Jan 31 '19 at 19:56
  • @stannius "you never accidentally win a car, without entering a contest to win a car" Not a contest, but you might unknowingly enter somewhere where you get a car, you get a car, everybody gets a car! – JiK Jan 31 '19 at 22:46
  • @MooingDuck I found a reddit thread where people said that on the Price is Right, you can turn down prizes if you don't want to pay the taxes on them. They way they put it, it doesn't seem scammy to me. Especially since it seems that particular prize-awarder does let you pick and choose which prizes you want to accept and which you want to refuse. – stannius Jan 31 '19 at 23:00
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If it were a legitimate case of them recovering money for you for a percentage, then they would be working it in a different direction. Asking for a "fee" puts this very much in suspicious scam territory.

Look up the supposed bank online (do NOT use whatever links or contact information were sent to you), contact them, and ask if the person you're talking to is working with/for them. Tell them you're working probate for your uncle, and ask them to confirm information based on what you've been sent. They won't be able to release much, but they should be able to tell you if you're being scammed or not.

Satanicpuppy
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    Don´t bother, just forget it. It is 100% for sure a scam. Search this stack or the internet and you´ll find tons and tons of exactly this and not even one real case! – Daniel Jan 30 '19 at 14:50
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    https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-money/inheritance-scams – Daniel Jan 30 '19 at 14:52
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    @daniel: Agreed. All I had to hear was "fee". Actually had a guy contact me with an "Unclaimed Money" situation which turned out to be legitimate, and he went about it entirely differently, offering to do all the claim paperwork, etc, in exchange for a percentage. Really, if there is unclaimed money in your name, it's not hard at all to claim. – Satanicpuppy Jan 30 '19 at 14:54
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    Also, if I look in my own personal spam folder I have hundreds of dead uncles so ... – Daniel Jan 30 '19 at 14:55
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    @Daniel You tried printing out any of them to get grievance days at work? – Nelson Jan 31 '19 at 14:32
  • @Daniel There is one real case on this site, but it had many, many more details and wasn't scammy like this one (there was no fee, iirc). – wizzwizz4 Jan 31 '19 at 17:25
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    @Daniel I think you need to empty your spam folder. – jpmc26 Jan 31 '19 at 22:44
  • @Nelson: ITYM bereavement. Grievance is when you complain that your employer mistreated or cheated you. – dave_thompson_085 Feb 01 '19 at 21:29
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In a genuine probate case the executor of the estate will not ask beneficiaries for money. The executor has a duty to identify the beneficiaries of the will and notify them, usually before the will is probated.

There is the possibility, however, that the will has been probated and the beneficiary has not been found or the person died intestate. In this situation, there are people who will try to broker the situation by making guesses who the beneficiary might be. These people are called "heir hunters". That might be the situation here.

However, just because the estate is real doesn't mean you are the beneficiary. It is possible that the fee hunter just mailed everyone with the same name of the missing beneficiary, which could be 100 people. Maybe one of them is the true beneficiary, maybe none of them are. If you pay him $500, he will probably just refer you to the executor. In the slight chance that you are the real beneficiary, then it is your lucky day. It is far more likely that you have no relation to the deceased and the executor will determine that and inform you.

If you want to pursue the case, you can start searching through unclaimed inheritance databases. Two of the provinces, Alberta and Quebec, have a comprehensive consolidated database of unclaimed inheritances. Unfortunately, the other provinces are harder to research, but there is a guide to how to do it.

In all probability, however, you are not the heir. If you were definitely the heir, the heir hunter would have given you a much more personalized letter and would have demanded more money, as much as 20% of the inheritance. Since he only asked for $500 it means it is probably just a random name match and nothing more.

Five Bagger
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    "Heir hunters" will ask you to agree a fee or percentage that they will deduct from your inheritance once they have successfully claimed it for you. Money paid up front is the clearest possible indication of a scam. You pay the money and you'll never hear anything more (though you'll now be on a black market suckers list that other hungry scammers will buy). – nigel222 Jan 31 '19 at 09:36
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    I'll add, they will not be in the least surprised if you initially demur to attempt your own genealogical and family research. They'll be expecting you to call back a few months later -- they are experts, you are an amateur, and nine times out of ten you will not be able to find your (usually accidental) inheritance from a distant relative unaided. Putting you under time pressure is another warning sign of a likely scam. – nigel222 Jan 31 '19 at 09:49
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    @nigel222 from what I've heard, you actually will hear more... once they know you're willing to fall for it, they'll keep asking for more fees, taxes, etc. until they bleed you dry or you realize you've been had. – stannius Jan 31 '19 at 16:14
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    @stannius - my second comment is about genuine heir hunters. Yes, they just about might be scammers playing a long game ... but any demand for money up front, it's a scam. Heir hunters do exist ... someone dies intestate, no close relatives left alive, an heir hunter steps in to locate their closest living distant relatives as per the law on intestacy, and it's fair enough that they get paid a fraction of what you get if you get anything! – nigel222 Jan 31 '19 at 16:24
  • @nigel222 I was only replying to your first comment "You pay the money and you'll never hear anything more" – stannius Jan 31 '19 at 17:14
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When there is an inheritance, then any costs associated with executing the inheritance are taken from the estate of the deceased person.

So when you are supposed to receive an inheritance, and a fee needs to be paid in order to get that inheritance to you, then that fee would be paid from the estate and you would receive your share of the remaining money. It's the duty of the executor of the inheritance to take care of these formalities.

So yes, this is an advance-fee scam.

This question is also tagged as . Depending on where you live and what grade of relation you had, you might or might not have to pay inheritance tax. Depending on country, there are two options: Either the inheritance tax is paid from the estate, and it's the executors duty to do so (A comment claims that Canada is such a country). Or the inheritance tax is paid by the receiver. In the latter case you would list your inheritance in your next tax return and then you get a tax bill from your national taxation bureau. Consult your local inheritance tax laws or ask a tax consultant for details.

Philipp
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    AFAIK Inheritance tax on financial assets in the estate is normally deducted and paid by the executors, since the amount depends on the total value of the estate and they are the only people who know that value. On the other hand if you inherit a significant non-financial asset (e.g. property) and immediately sell it, there may be other taxes associated with the sale. – alephzero Jan 31 '19 at 14:31
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    The question is also tagged "canada" and a quick google for Canadian inheritance tax rules finds me "the estate pays the taxes owed to the government, rather than the beneficiaries paying." The first part of this answer is good, but I'd lose the stuff about the taxes. – timday Jan 31 '19 at 14:37
  • @timday I updated the answer to account for countries where inheritance is paid from the estate. – Philipp Jan 31 '19 at 14:40
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There is a 99% probability that this is a scam. But just for piece of mind, confirm with your parents or other family members if there is fact a long lost "uncle" who died in Canada. If they say yes, then you can make a few more calls and attempt to collect the inheritance directly, because it's also possible there is actually inheritance, but the person who contacted you is also a scammer.

ericrussell
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If someone left you a large amount of money, they would not simply send you an email saying "Send me a fee and I'll send it to you." Any large sum of money would have a lot of bureaucracy attached. If they were smart, there would be a trust or some other body in place and any contact they had with you would probably be through lawyers. If they were not as smart, they would have left it in a will and you would still have lawyers contacting you, possibly with IRS or other government officials backing them up and wanting a piece of the pie in the form of taxes. They would not simply ask you to pay a fee and then wire you a bunch of money. Most governments won't let someone just hand off a "large amount of money." If there's no red tape, it's probably not official.

CMB
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    You are probably right about the e-mail, but not about the bureaucracy or lawyers. My sister (not a lawyer) worked for a company that did this. There are absolutely small companies that are told about inheritances and track down the rightful recipient in exchange for some compensation. However, I don't know how the company was paid. – piojo Jan 31 '19 at 03:24
  • @piojo Really? Wow, I did not know that. To me it seems surprising that they don't have some kind of red tape to get through. There's absolutely nothing a recipient has to do aside from accept a check? – CMB Jan 31 '19 at 03:53
  • I doubt it's that simple, no. But the first step would not involve a lawyer. I'm not sure if any step involves a lawyer. – piojo Jan 31 '19 at 04:02
  • @piojo Interesting. That's good to know. Thanks for the correction. – CMB Jan 31 '19 at 04:07
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Sounds like the well known, classic 419 scam:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam

However as one of the answers mentions, double check if there is really an inheritance and you're not being scammed on the claim by a third party.

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