Genes Reunited - a scam or not?

[Helen F H]

I joined genes reunited a long time ago and really never did anything with it - my family is very small and i only have three close blood relatives left although i would think there are plenty of very distant rellies out there who i dont know.

Anyhoo, i got a message via their site requesting information about my mum. The message was from someone with the exact same maiden name as her, but they also included her birth year (not exact date) and rough place of birth (large town) in the message.

Its taken me a long time to get some money in the bank, and i really want it to stay mine not hand it over to some scammer who is trying to get me to confirm my mothers maiden name and other details about her.

So....anyone else had any experience of genes reunited and requests from someone you dont know about family members?

[Eeyore]

Hi Helen,
just like a phone call....I never give any info.!!!!
if they want it bad enough they will post a letter of give and address/tel. no. so you can work out if they are genuine or not

just my 2p worth

[Adrian Kelland]

Hi Helen,

Don't hand over any money. Those truly interested in family history usually move heaven and earth NOT to pay out. They will go to a lot of work not to buy birth certificates for example.

If the person is genuinely interested, they would usually be able to list out some ancestors highlighting the ones likely to be common.

Adrian

[SilvaFish]

Hi Helen,
Don't hand any money out or give info. Also, if they are genuine, get them to send you their family tree and work from there.

Good luck!