Safe or scam? Inheritance Scams
When individuals pass away without a will, their estate and funds typically transfer to the next of kin or are claimed by a relative. In instances where rightful beneficiaries do not step forward, specialised teams are tasked with locating the next of kin to ensure they receive lost inheritances.
These types of scams usually start when someone gets in touch with you and explains that you are the beneficiary of a family member's estate or inheritance. Normally, the individual that contacts you will suggest that they are from a solicitors firm or another professional organisation. In most of the cases we see, the deceased individual lived abroad and the funds will be hard to access. They will ask you to make payments for solicitor fees, court fees and also potentially fees to set up transfer or escrow accounts in order to facilitate the transfer. This may happen over a number of weeks or months and we often that the amounts that you are expected to send, increase over this time.
It is common that the solicitor firms are clones of real firms, and as they are usually outside of the UK it makes it harder to ensure that they are genuine or not.
Another variation of these scams are when you meet someone online and they suggest that they have come into a large inheritance. They often suggest that they need to travel to the country where the money is held, in order to sign contracts to move the money over to themselves. They may ask for you to make payments to them for flights or solicitors fees in order to obtain the funds, showing the amount in the account to prove that they are able to repay you as soon as they have completed the transfer of the inheritance.
So, how do you check if it is SAFE or a SCAM?
Here is a summary of the red flags to look out for if you are approached regarding an inheritance:
🚩You are contacted out of the blue about a relative that you have never heard of
🚩You are being asked to pay fees in order to access the inheritance
🚩You have been speaking with someone who has told you they are waiting for an inheritance, and they need your help to pay for flights/solicitors/transfer fees
🚩You are being put under pressure to make payments or they give you a time limit to make the payments
🚩The relative is someone you have not heard of
🚩A lack of legal documentation
Checks you can do if you are unsure if you are in line for inheritance:
Speak with your family to find out if this person whos inheritance you are entitled to is known to your family
Research the sender of the messages, be that the person you met online, the solicitors or any other person who has contacted you regarding this
Verify all legal documents sent to you
Contact legal professionals within the UK to discuss what is being offered/asked of you
Reverse image search all photos and documents you are sent
Contact the Embassy of the country that they are suggesting the money is being sent from, to check legal processes and information
If you are ever unsure whether or not what you are purchasing is genuine, or want to check how to pay for the best protection, call the number on the back of your bank card and speak to your bank’s fraud team.
If you have lost money to this type of scam, Refundee can help you get your money back from your bank and you can fill in our fraud refund claim form for a free consultation. Our fee is 15% plus VAT on anything that we get back, and we don't charge anything if we are not successful. For larger cases, the fee is subject to a maximum of £10k plus VAT per case.
Remember, you don’t need to use a company like Refundee - you could work your case yourself for free! If you’d like to get a refund yourself. You can do this by following the ‘Claim Yourself’ guide here: https://www.refundee.com/claim-yourself
