Most scammers are not very creative or original. They do not need to be, because ordinary, run-of-the-mill scams that have worked for decades continue to work. The best way to make sure that you are not a victim is to know about the scams ahead of time. One of the most common scams involves receiving an unexpected inheritance.

Everyone who had an email account in the 1990s knows about the Nigerian Prince scam as they probably received dozens, if not hundreds, of variations of the scam in their inboxes.

The basic idea behind the scam was that an extremely wealthy person in Nigeria had his accounts frozen or could not transfer money out of the country without help. The scammer either requested that money be sent or that bank account numbers be sent to facilitate the transfer of the scammer’s assets for which the person would be rewarded handsomely later.

That this was a scam seems obvious, as why would some wealthy African need the assistance of random Americans? However, everyone knows about the scam because it worked. The scammer just needs one person out of millions to take the bait. That is true with most common scams. Only one person needs to take the bait to make attempting to scam thousands worth the scammer’s time.

Another old scam is still making the rounds, according to the Wichita Eagle in “A long-lost relative left you money? Beware of inheritance scams.”

In this scam, the intended victim is told that a relative has left them an inheritance, but to get the inheritance, the victim must first pay the scammer money to facilitate the transfer. Often this scam can be very personal, as the victim is given the name of a real relative who died or lived in a faraway place as the person who left the inheritance. That makes the scam sound plausible.

The best way to protect against this scam is to know it exists, and if you receive anything that looks like it, to check with other relatives before sending any money to claim the inheritance.

Still not convinced that the scam is a phony? Contact an estate planning attorney to check it out for you.

For more information about estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Reference: Wichita Eagle (August 21, 2015) “A long-lost relative left you money? Beware of inheritance scams“