I live in the USA. I have a fairly common last name. ChatGPT says I share it with about 40,000 other people in the USA. I received a letter today from a financial consultant in Belgium. It is a paper letter sent by post, it has an international stamp and the postmark says France. The letter is professionally written and the consulting company has a website that looks legitimate.
The letter says that a gentleman who shares my last name died and has an estate worth 9M Euros. He has no known heirs and the consultant has been hired to search for living heirs.
I have no reason to think I'm related. It is possible my family name was an Ellis Island invention and not my true family name (but we're not sure). My great grandparents were immigrants who died young and my grandfather was orphaned as a child. I don't really know much about my family before the 20th century.
Is there a chance this is legitimate? Do estates with no known heirs send tens-of-thousands of letters looking for an heir? (I guess 9M Euros pays for a lot of postage).
Before I shred this letter, is it worth responding?
Update: I'm not a fool. I've seen these scams in email and online and knew them as scams. This one seemed like there was extra cost. I've never seen one come in physical mail. There was some substantial costs to send this out to thousands of people.
Also, my Google search provided this response:
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Yes, estates with no known heirs (or missing heirs) are legally required to conduct a "diligent search" for potential beneficiaries before assets can be distributed or deemed unclaimed. Executors often hire professional heir search firms, utilize genealogical research, publish notices in newspapers, and check public records to locate family members.
Key actions taken to find heirs include:
* Hiring Professional Genealogists/Heir Hunters: Experts are used to track down distant relatives, especially when a family tree is complex.
* Publishing Legal Notice: A formal notice is often published in local newspapers to notify potential heirs and solicit claims.
* Public Records Research: Searching databases, obituaries, vital statistics, and social media.
* Documenting Efforts: The executor must present evidence of their search efforts to the probate court.
If all searches fail, the estate assets are generally placed in a holding account or deposit with the state for a set period. If they remain unclaimed, they may ultimately escheat (revert) to the state.
*AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses*
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Update 2: I googled the office phone number on the letterhead. Yes, it is a Belgium number, but only one result shows up for Google and it is for a reported scam on scamsurvivors.com. It looks like a scam.