Heir Hunter and Unclaimed Inheritance Scams After a Death

Heir hunter and unclaimed inheritance scams are letters, calls, texts or forged documents that use a death to take money from the living. There are three main kinds. Fake "law firms" write to say a stranger with your surname left you millions; on 9 July 2026 the FTC warned that this letter is back (FTC, 9 July 2026). Fake officials call or text about "unclaimed funds" and ask for a fee. And in England, a BBC investigation in July 2025 found evidence that criminals used forged wills to take the estates of people who died with no known family (BBC, 9 July 2025).

Real heir hunters exist too. They are private firms that trace missing relatives for a share of the estate. They are legal. You never have to use them, because the official searches are free.

That is the short answer if you searched "heir hunter scams" or "unclaimed inheritance letter". The rest of this page shows how to tell the four apart in under a minute, and how to protect an estate when you are the executor.

A letter, three weeks after the funeral

Imagine you have just lost your father. The house is quiet. Bills and sympathy cards arrive every day. Then a letter comes on heavy paper, with a law firm's name at the top.

It says a client with your family name has died abroad. He left a large sum. No heir has come forward. The lawyer suggests you could claim it, and split it with him and some charities. Please keep this private. Please reply by email.

You are tired. You are sad. A little part of you thinks: what if? Maybe Dad had a cousin you never met.

That moment is exactly what the sender is counting on. Grief makes old family stories feel close. It also makes people less likely to ask a friend for a second opinion.

Four things that look alike

What arrives	What it usually is	The tell
A letter from a "law firm" about a stranger's fortune or life insurance	A scam, the FTC says	You are asked to share the money with the "lawyer," keep it secret, and send personal details
A call or text about "unclaimed funds" in your name	Often a phishing scam, the FTC says	A deadline, a fee, or a link in an unexpected text
A forged will claiming a dead person's estate	Fraud that steals the estate	Someone unknown to the family appears as the sole heir
A letter from an heir hunter or probate genealogist	A legal business offer	A contract for a percentage of your share, usually paid only if the claim succeeds

Let us take them one at a time.

Scam 1: the fake lawyer and the stranger's millions

The FTC has warned about this letter again and again: in August 2022, in June 2024, and on 9 July 2026. Its latest alert begins: "We've written about this scam before, but like a bad sequel, it's back" (FTC, 9 July 2026).

How it works. The "lawyer" says that a client "with your same last name, died and you're the heir to a life insurance policy worth millions." The letter offers to split the money "between you, some charity organizations, and their law firm." In the 2022 version, it also told people to keep the matter secret and to reply by email "immediately" (FTC, 10 August 2022).

What is really happening. The FTC is blunt: "this is not a letter from a lawyer." If you reply, the sender will "try to get your personal and financial information (like your Social Security or bank account numbers), your money, or all of the above." And the money? "It doesn't exist at all."

The money machine. Once you reply, the costs begin. Australia's consumer watchdog describes a typical case. A man it calls Leo got a letter from a "lawyer in Portugal" proposing to claim a fortune on the strength of their shared, unusual surname. First he paid "a few fees and taxes." Then more. "Every time he paid one tax, the lawyer would discover that some bank policy or quirk of local laws required another fee to be paid." He spent more than $30,000 and lost all his savings (ACCC Scamwatch; the regulator says its stories are based on real reports, with names changed).

The test. A real lawyer acting for an estate does not offer to split it with you. They do not ask you to pretend to be a relative. They do not ask for fees before you receive anything.

What to do. Do not reply. Tell a friend, because they may get the same letter. In the US, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Scam 2: the "unclaimed funds" call or text

This one does not need a death in your family at all. But it often lands when one has happened, because grieving families are already dealing with banks, insurers and paperwork.

How it works. A caller or text "might use a real-sounding (but fake) government agency name." It may name a specific amount you are owed. It may say time is running out, or that the claim period has been "extended just for you" (FTC, 30 March 2026).

The money machine. The aim is either your personal details or an upfront "processing" fee to "release" the money.

The test. "The government won't call or text and ask you to pay them to search for unclaimed funds," the FTC says. And state unclaimed property programmes "won't text you with alerts about unclaimed property, but a scammer will."

What to do. Do not click links in unexpected texts. Go straight to your state's official site instead. The free searches are listed further down this page.

Scam 3: the forged will against an empty estate

This scam targets the estates of people who have died. If you are an executor, or a relative of someone who lived alone, you need to know it.

Background. In England and Wales, when someone dies with no will and no known family, their estate passes to the Crown as "ownerless property," or bona vacantia. For years the government published a list of these unclaimed estates on GOV.UK, so that real relatives could find them. In July 2025 it listed about 6,000 estates.

What the BBC found. A BBC investigation reported cases in the south of England where a dead person's details appeared on the list and, shortly afterwards, someone stepped forward as their sole heir. These "heirs" produced wills "where none had previously been thought to have existed." The claimants appeared to be connected to each other through a network of company directorships. Family, friends and neighbours of the dead said they had tried to alert the authorities, "but say that no action was ever taken" (BBC, 9 July 2025).

After the BBC's reports, bank accounts for dozens of companies connected to the suspected fraudsters were suspended. On 7 July 2025, the government took the list offline. The Ministry of Justice said it was "working with the relevant agencies to support ongoing investigations into alleged fraudulent activity." We have not found any criminal convictions reported from those investigations, so the people involved should be treated as suspects, not proven fraudsters.

Why it worked. Probate has largely been done online since 2017. A specialist lawyer told the BBC the system demands too few checks on applicants and "is clearly open to abuse."

What happened next. On 12 January 2026, the government put the list back. Its review "found no evidence the Bona Vacantia unclaimed estates list has been the source of fraud." But it now shows much less: only the name, date of death, area of death and case reference number (GOV.UK, 12 January 2026).

Not everyone was reassured. A partner at a probate genealogy firm that worked on the BBC investigation said trimming the list does not fix the real weakness: fraud happens "because verification is light-touch," he told the Law Society Gazette (Law Gazette, January 2026).

The legal trade: heir hunters and finder's fees

Now the part that confuses people most. Some letters about an inheritance are real.

Who they are. Heir hunters, also called probate genealogists, asset locators or heir finders, are private businesses. They study lists of unclaimed estates and property, build family trees and contact possible heirs. If you sign with them, they take a share of what you receive.

What the UK government says. "Genealogists are private companies who trace potentially entitled relatives for commercial gain. They do not work for, on or behalf of, BVD." If one contacts you, "it is up to you whether you use their services," and the government will not advise you either way (GOV.UK, Bona Vacantia guidance).

What a US state says. California's State Controller explains that investigators, "sometimes referred to as Asset Locators or Heir Finders," may file claims for you for a fee, under a full disclosure contract. It is against California law for them to charge more than 10% of the property returned to you, except for county probated estates, where there is no limit. And: "owners are NOT required to use an Investigator to file a claim" (California State Controller). Rules differ in other states.

How to tell a real firm from a fake. The California Controller gives two clear signs of trouble: a firm that "asks for money before the owner receives the property," or a fee that "is not based on a percentage of the value of the property." A real heir hunter is paid out of your inheritance, after it arrives. A scammer wants money first.

Is a real heir hunter worth it? Sometimes. A complex family tree, or an estate abroad, can take real expertise. But before you sign, do a free search yourself. If you can find the estate in ten minutes, a large percentage may not be worth paying.

The free, official searches

These cost nothing. Start here, every time.

In the US

• State unclaimed property. Every state keeps a database of unclaimed money and must try to return it. Find your state's official site at unclaimed.org/search. Check every state you or the person who died lived or did business in.
• MissingMoney.com. A free site sponsored by the state administrators' association, NAUPA, that searches most states at once (NAUPA).
• Life insurance. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners runs a free Life Insurance Policy Locator. You enter details from the death certificate. If a policy is found and you are the beneficiary, the insurer contacts you directly (NAIC, 14 May 2025).

In England and Wales

• The unclaimed estates list on GOV.UK, run by the Bona Vacantia Division. If you think you are entitled, email a family tree to the address given in the official guidance.
• Know who can inherit. Without a will, only relatives in a strict order can claim, from a spouse down to first cousins. "A second cousin is related through the deceased's great-grandparent(s) and is not entitled," the guidance says.
• Mind the time limits. Claims are generally accepted within 12 years of the estate's administration being completed, with interest. Fully documented claims may be accepted up to 30 years from the date of death, without interest. After that, nothing (GOV.UK).

If you are the executor: protect the estate

The forged-will cases share one thing. The person who died often had an empty home and nobody watching. You can close that gap.

1. Secure the property. Change the locks if keys are unaccounted for. Redirect the post. Tell neighbours who is handling the estate and how to reach you.

2. Set up a free Property Alert (UK). HM Land Registry's Property Alert emails you when there is significant activity on a property, such as a new mortgage. You can monitor up to 10 properties, and you do not need to own them, so you can watch a relative's home (HM Land Registry, updated 10 October 2025). It will not stop fraud by itself, so act fast on any alert you do not expect.

3. Check for grants. In England and Wales you can check whether a grant of probate or letters of administration has been issued using the government's probate search service, the Bona Vacantia guidance notes. A grant you did not apply for is an emergency. Call a solicitor.

4. Tell banks and insurers early. Ask each one to note the death on its records, and who is handling the estate.

5. Keep the will safe, and say where it is. A known, original will is the best defence against a forged one.

Red flags you can check yourself

• You are asked to keep it secret.
• You are asked to pay before you receive anything: fees, taxes, "release" costs.
• The sender offers to split an estate with you.
• The relative is a stranger who shares your surname.
• There is a deadline or "final notice".
• The message comes by text with a link.
• You are asked for your Social Security number or bank details at the first contact.
• An "heir" you have never heard of appears with a will nobody knew about.

One red flag is enough to stop and check. Two or more, and you can be almost sure.

The honest lesson

After a death, everyone is a little more open. You answer calls you would ignore. You read letters you would bin. Scammers know this. They time their letters for the weeks when families are busiest and most tired.

The best protection starts before a death. When your own affairs are written down, your family knows what is real. They know whether there is a will, where it is, which accounts and policies exist, and who the executor is. A letter about a mystery fortune is then easy to spot, because it does not match anything on the list.

Death is certain. Confusion after it is not. That part you can prepare for.

Our free end-of-life readiness check shows in a few minutes what is still missing from your plans. The Complete Planning Library includes an After-a-Death & Executor Kit with call scripts and a paperwork tracker, plus a "where to find everything" list for your will, accounts and policies. It costs $39, once, with a 30-day refund. It cannot stop a scam letter arriving. It gives your family the facts to recognise one.

Families are also targeted in the days around the funeral itself. Read Funeral Livestream and Obituary Scams: How They Work. For what happens to photos, messages and online accounts, see who gets your photos and voice messages when you die.