They said there was an inheritance. There wasn't.

A letter claimed a distant relative had left an estate and that notary fees were needed upfront to release my aunt’s share.

Names matched genealogy she had posted after an obituary.

We called the probate court—no case.

The letterhead was a scanned fake.

At the community centre talk afterward, half the room knew someone who had seen the same envelope.

Inheritance scams mix grief and hope.

Real heirs are notified through formal process; fees come from the estate, not gift cards from your pocket first.

My aunt was lonely; the letter felt like purpose and connection to family history.

Family tree research showed the named “relative” never existed in our documented line.

We were angry that death notices became a shopping list for predators.

We open suspicious mail together on Sundays now and call the court or a lawyer we choose before any wire.

• Probate is public but slow—upfront fees to strangers are a red flag.
• Report mail fraud to postal inspectors or your national fraud line.

For more help, see our Report a scam page and Spot and avoid scams guide.