LONG LOST RELITIVE DIES AND LEAVES YOU $174,000 – TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!

A police department has reported this new scam uncovered this week.

A law office notifies you that a long lost relative has died and that you have inherited a large sum of money. For confidentiality reasons they cannot tell you the name of the deceased and they cannot release the check until taxes and fees in the amount of $1,248.00 are paid. They require that the payment be made by check. A copy of the benefits check is provided to prove that they are real. The deal is sweetened with the promise of a property transfer from the deceased with a value in excess of $450,000.

Needless to say this is a scam. Paying the “taxes and fees” will result in two potential crimes. They will take the cash, and they will use your bank information (conveniently provided on your check) to commit identity theft and check forgery. These scams often use wire transfers for draining bank accounts and critical information to perform a wire transfer can be obtained from the check and a few other common sources.

KnightsBridge Castle's eye-spy(TM) systems reveal that the address provided in the letter is an addressing or letter service, a photo copy station, a communications service, and a shipping agent. The phone company records do not provide an identification for the phone number provided. Clearly this letter is not your good fortune.