Requests for a Social Security Number and ID From an Online Inheritance Contact
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed September 20, 2025
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
My homegirl says she has an inheritance. And she would like for me to deposit it into my bank accounts. So shes got a Lawyer. I spoke with him today. And He's requesting to see my ID and SSN for verification. Is this even legal?
Like I was asking. I have a homegirl that I met online. She says she got an inheritance from her dad. And she would like for me to deposit it into my bank accounts because she couldn't. So I said ok. So I been speaking to her so-called lawyer on whatsapp. And he's asking to see my ID and my SSN for verification purposes. I'm kinda skeptical on sharing my information to a stranger. Is this even legal?
Attorney Answer
No — do not send your Social Security number or ID to this "lawyer." No law stops a stranger from asking, which is exactly why the request is not self-policing: the pattern here — an online acquaintance's inheritance, a request to route it through your personal bank account, then a demand for your SSN — matches a well-known advance-fee and money-mule scheme rather than any legitimate legal transaction.
A lawyer actually handling an inheritance for a client does not need a third party's Social Security number to deposit anything. An estate distributes to its beneficiary or heir — through the estate, a bank, or the attorney's own trust account — not through the personal account of someone unrelated to the estate.
Handing your SSN and ID to someone you have never met is exactly the exposure Pen. Code § 530.5 describes from the victim's side. That statute makes it a public offense to willfully obtain another person's personal identifying information and use it for an unlawful purpose, such as obtaining credit, goods, services, or medical information without that person's consent. Giving your own information away does not make you the offender under that section — it makes you the person it exists to protect, which is not a position worth volunteering for.
There is a second and separate risk. If you let funds be deposited into your account and then move or forward them, and the money turns out to be proceeds of fraud, you can be treated as a participant in someone else's scheme. Federal wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 reaches a scheme to obtain money or property by false or fraudulent pretenses carried out through interstate wire communications. Continuing to move money after warning signs appear is what turns an unwitting middleman into a defendant.
What you can do
1. Stop communicating with the "lawyer" and with the online contact, and send no SSN, ID, banking credentials, or other personal or financial information.
2. Do not allow any deposit into your account on this person's behalf, and if one arrives, do not forward, withdraw, or transfer any part of it.
3. Report the contact to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov) and the FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov), preserving the messages and whatever contact details you have.
4. If a deposit has already landed, contact your bank immediately, explain the situation, and ask about freezing or reversing it before touching the funds.
5. If you are ever contacted by law enforcement about activity in your account, speak with an attorney before making any statement.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a legitimate inheritance ever need to pass through an unrelated person's bank account?
No. An estate distribution goes to the actual beneficiary or heir — through the estate, a financial institution, or an attorney trust account. A request to route an inheritance through an unrelated third party's personal account has no legitimate basis.
What is a "money mule," and can someone be liable even without knowing it was a scam?
A money mule is a person who receives and forwards funds on behalf of a fraud scheme, often without understanding that at first. Liability generally turns on what the person knew or should have known, and continuing to move money after clear warning signs appear increases that risk considerably.
Why is a request for a Social Security number a red flag in an online transaction?
An SSN is not needed to receive or transfer funds in an ordinary transaction, and disclosing it to an unverified party creates serious identity-theft exposure. Legitimate financial institutions and attorneys use established, verifiable channels rather than informal requests over a messaging app.
