Greg's Corner

Million-Dollar Inheritance Scam

By Greg Collier

A recent attempted scam out of Canada serves as a reminder that the promise of a surprise inheritance is usually more fiction than fact. The setup had all the hallmarks of a well-planned con: a letter from a foreign attorney, a sizable estate left behind by a deceased woman who shared a surname with the recipient, and a convincing narrative involving court filings, insurance policies, and official documents. But it was all a lie.

The person who received the letter saw through it immediately and was never in danger. But others may not be as fortunate. These scams are often aimed at people who are either unfamiliar with how to vet such claims or who are in a desperate situation where even the faintest promise of a windfall can seem like a lifeline. The emotional appeal is deliberate. Scammers understand how to exploit both financial need and human greed.

In this case, the supposed law firm that sent the letter did not exist. The lawyer named on the documents is not listed with the Canadian Bar Association. The firm’s website was only recently registered and traced to Malaysia. The deceased woman’s death certificate could not be verified through any official channels. The address provided for her residence was actually that of an assisted living facility, and the office location for the lawyer turned out to be a strip mall storefront. Even the judge’s signature was fraudulent, as the real judge had retired prior to the date on the document.

Scams like this hinge on creating just enough legitimacy to fool someone into handing over their personal information. The fraudsters often mix truth with fiction, using real names and plausible addresses to lower suspicion. The next step usually involves asking for banking details or a “processing fee” to unlock the inheritance. Once that happens, it’s the victim’s money that vanishes, not an imaginary estate that appears.

These inheritance claims are rarely, if ever, real. Large unclaimed estates without a clear heir are extremely uncommon, and when they do occur, the process for claiming them is handled through official probate courts, not unsolicited letters or emails. Most of the time, if an heir cannot be located, the estate is absorbed by the government after a thorough legal process.

It’s tempting to believe in a sudden fortune falling from the sky, especially when the story is polished enough to seem true. But the sad reality is that scams like this one continue to work because they are engineered to manipulate emotions and cloud judgment. If something seems like a gift from nowhere, it almost certainly comes with a price.

And when no legitimate heir can be found, the money doesn’t go to the person who answers a mysterious letter. It goes to the state, not to a stranger willing to fabricate a connection. So no matter how convincing the story sounds, it’s always better to walk away than be taken in.