Virtual vultures? How scammers are swooping on digital will
Fraudsters are taking advantage of weaknesses in the online probate system and stealing millions of pounds from families and the estates of the deceased, says Lynsey Harrison
A major story broke over the weekend concerning two sisters Lisa and Nicole. In late 2023, they were informed through a ‘heir finder’ company they had inherited a substantial sum from their late aunt Christine.
However, while dealing with both the life changing news and emotional toll of losing a loved one, a Hungarian man named Tamas Szvercsok, unknown to Christine’s family, friends or neighbours came forward and produced a purported will, naming him sole as the sole beneficiary to her entire estate.
While awful, this story unfortunately, isn’t unique. In fact, it has been established with mounting evidence that that a criminal gang was behind this (and other similar cases), carrying out systematic will fraud by taking advantage of weaknesses in the online probate system and stealing millions of pounds from families and the estates of the deceased.
The problem with (online) probate
The online probate application system, launched in 2017, has drawn widespread criticism for failing to identify fraudulent applicants and therefore, potentially increasing tax fraud. It now seems that further gaps are being exploited by criminals to target unsuspecting families and beneficiaries of estates.
When someone dies, their estate has to be assessed for inheritance tax purposes. This is not payable on estates worth £325,000 or less, but any amount over that threshold – with some exceptions – is taxed at 40%.
It’s the responsibility of the person awarded grant of probate to make sure inheritance tax has been paid.
Applicants for grant of probate must sign a statement of truth to declare the value if the estate and what tax is due, but under the current arrangements, using the online system, all personal representatives are compelled to do is make a declaration online and confirm that no tax is due.
Pre-2017 and the introduction of the online application system, executors of wills and personal representatives of estates, would have had to attend their local probate registry to swear an oath, which would enable the registrar to evaluate every single case on its own merit. Now that the system has moved online, the chance to assess and query the executor’s behaviour is eliminated.
One of the largest flaws identified the current system is that it relies heavily on the honesty of the individual making the application for a grant of probate/ grant of letters of administration. As such, that paves the way for the wrong types of people to take advantage and abuse it. In an economic climate such as the current one we are facing, where people are facing tighter financial constraints, we do tend to see a trend where there is a shift in non-contentious work becoming contentious as people take advantage of loopholes and gaps in the system, such as this, for their own financial gain.
Ultimately, people get more desperate, and they look for people to exploit and systems to abuse.
Fraud-proof your future
In the specific case of Christine’s estate, there were some tell-tale signs of fraud. For example, none of Christine’s family, friends or neighbours had previously heard of Mr Szvercsok.
There were also specific details pertaining to the will, such as Christine’s home address, that was clearly misspelled on the fraudulent will and even though the will was dated 2016, the address quoted for Mr Szvercsok was a block of flats that had not been built until 2021!
Despite presenting what they thought was a strong case to police and the probate service, the two sisters Lisa and Nicole were told they would have to bring a civil action if they wanted to prove that the will was fraudulent – something which would cost tens of thousands of pounds. Legal costs that they would only recover from Mr Svercsok if their claim was successful.
It’s crucial that people seek legal guidance as soon as possible if they suspect fraudulent activity around probate and estate matters, or they have concerns about the validity of a will.
This is especially important with the introduction of digital or electronic Wills included in the Law Commission’s recent report and their recommendations to modernise the law around wills in the future.
There have been concerns around how the new electronics Wills proposals could result in massive upsurge in estate fraud – similar to patterns following the introduction of online banking. Additionally, a lack of personal oversight or face to face meetings with a testator, could compromise the authenticity of an individual’s final wishes or put vulnerably individuals at a greater risk of coercion and influence.
Looking forward
While digital wills and the online probate systems promise practical advantages, and the move to a digital era seems inevitable, there are significant legal complexities and ethical challenges that remain unresolved.
The case of Christine’s estate represents an emerging pattern of inheritance fraud that will unfortunately become more common. However, the public cannot afford to wait for comprehensive government action to address these issues.
Individuals must engage experienced legal professionals, such as our team who can assist in identifying evidence of potential will fraud and help navigate beneficiaries through the intricate probate process, providing protection for families during what is already a very difficult and testing times.
Lynsey Harrison is partner at national law firm Clarion, specialising in contentious private clients