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August 24, 2018 | Cyber Alerts

Beware the Dead Client Scam A.K.A. Inheritance Scam

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LegalFuel received a report from a person in the Ukraine who was contacted by a scammer using a Florida attorney’s information.

The scammer claimed to be working on the probate of a large estate of a recently deceased client. The scammer was unable to “locate or make contact with any other relatives” of the late client entitling the party to the entirety of the estate. The funds were reportedly being held in a bank in a foreign country. The party would need to contact the bank and lay claim to the estate. The scammer drafted and sent the party false Supreme Court of Florida documents hoping to receive bank account information or other personally identifiable information (PII) from the party which could potentially be used for malicious purposes such as identity theft. The party became suspicious when the scammer instructed them to email the false documents to an address which did not match the contact information located on the bank’s website.

For additional information on this type of scam please see:

Snopes: Same Surname Inheritance

U.S. Postal Inspection Service: Phony Inheritance Scam

VIEWS AND CONCLUSIONS EXPRESSED IN ARTICLES HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF FLORIDA BAR STAFF, OFFICIALS, OR BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FLORIDA BAR.