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In these cases, the intended victims receive a notification from a service or so-called research specialist claiming there is an inheritance waiting for the intended victim to claim it. All that is required to collect is for the intended victim to send in a fee. This may be a fee for an estate report, instructions on how to collect or a processing fee.
In fact, however, the same information has been sent to thousands of other persons with the same name and it is unlikely the intended victim has anything coming from an estate--or if there actually is an estate, the amount involved is insignificant--perhaps even less than the fee paid.
While most people would be aware of the death of a relative or friend who might have left them something in a will, there is always that uncertainty--particularly if the information sent to the victim is creative and shows some examples of people who collected huge inheritances from folks they never knew existed.
Legitimate law firms and executors of estates, of course, do not ask for fees from named beneficiaries to find out about funds which might have been left them in a will and in most of these schemes, such solicitations are simply a variation on the advance fee scam.
Persons who receive such mailings and are reluctant to simply ignore them should contact the Better Business Bureau, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the State Attorney General's office to seek advice and check out the "researchers" or company which sent the mailing
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