Police issue wills and probate warning

One police force has recently issued a wills and probate warning after several suspected advanced fee fraud scams were carried out in Loughborough and Leicester.

The Leicestershire Constabulary said that since April 2011 they have been contacted by 37 people who said that they were the recipients of letters from a Mr Dong Li of Wing Hang bank, saying that they could fraudulently claim millions of pounds of inheritance.

"It is our belief that the intention of this letter is to trick unknowing members of the public into handing over money to the sender and that it has not been sent by officials from Wing Hang Bank," detective constable Paul Hawkins, a detective form the force Economic Crime Unit, said.

People interested in wills and probate matters have been told in this letter people are told they can claim 50 per cent of the money that a deceased person with a matching surname has deposited in a bank account.

This is despite the fact that they may not be acquainted with the deceased and are not their next of kin.

The case shows that importance of using professional services when it comes to handling wills and probate matters to make sure that everything is dealt with properly.

Published by Hannah Carr