By Kimberly Powell
Unfortunately, even in the friendly field of family history the old adage "Buyer Beware" must hold true. While it's not a common occurrence, there are some people who while researching their family tree have found themselves the victim of a genealogy scam, defined by Webster's Collegiate Dictionary as "a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation." Of course the best defense against such hoaxes, scams and other deceptions is knowledge, so I'm including a partial list of known scams and hoaxes that all genealogy enthusiasts should be aware of. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so be sure to do your research before sending anyone money for anything.
The Phony Inheritance Scam
Several of the most famous genealogy scams (e.g. Baker Hoax) have been based on mail that informs you that you an unclaimed inheritance has been located and that a full report with details on how to claim the inheritance will be sent for a fee. Other such scams were propagated by newspaper advertisements searching for the "rightful heirs" of huge estates. The respondents to these advertisements were then urged to join together to raise the legal fees involved with settling the estate. Now the fee part would probably have many of us questioning the validity of such a scheme, but many people have been taken in by similar scams over the years. Estate frauds touched hundreds of thousands of families, and you may even uncover references to such fortune or estate claims in your family tree.
YOUR Family History Scam
Have you ever received a letter in the mail from a company who claims to have done extensive work around the world on the history of your surname? Perhaps they have produced a wonderful book on your family, something such as THE WORLD BOOK OF POWELLS' or POWELLS ACROSS AMERICA which traces the history of the Powell surname back to the 1500s? However these advertisements are worded, they all have one thing in common - they claim to be a 'one-of-a-kind' book and usually also claim to only be available for a limited time. Sound too good to be true? It is. These 'family surname history' books are little more than glorified phone books. Usually they will include some general information on tracing your family tree, a brief history of your surname (very generic and providing no insight on the history of your specific family) and then a list of names taken from a variety of old phone directories. Real helpful, huh? Companies such as Halberts of Bath OH have been prosecuted and shut down for just such fraud, but there are always new ones to take their place.
Similar items to watch out for include family history and surname origin scrolls and plaques. These provide only a generic history or surname origin of some of the families that carry the surname in question, but nothing on your specific family. Basically, any company who suggests that a mass-produced item is part of a customer's individual family history is misrepresenting genealogy and family history and you should stay away.
Genealogists with Falsified Credentials
It is relatively easy for an amateur family historian to set up shop and charge money for tracing family trees. This is absolutely acceptable as long as the genealogist in question does not misrepresent their abilities or training. Just because a genealogist doesn't have professional certification doesn't mean they don't know what they are doing. Professional genealogists are not usually licensed by governments, but several professional genealogy organizations have instituted screening programs. However, there have unfortunately been cases where people have been easily misled by the inappropriate use of credentials and/or postnomials implying such testing or special qualifications. Before hiring a professional researcher, make sure that you do your research and know exactly what you are getting for your money. The names of professional genealogists, both certified and uncertified, can be obtained from professional associations, many of which maintain online rosters. See Selecting a Professional Genealogist for help with checking the qualifications of a potential researcher, making your needs known to them, things you should do to improve your results and understanding the costs involved.
Coats of Arms Confusion
There are many companies out there who will sell you your coat of arms on a t-shirt, mug, or 'handsomely engraved' plaque. For my husband's surname, POWELL, there is an entire catalog full of such items! While these companies are not necessarily out to scam you, their sales pitch is very misleading and, in some cases, outright incorrect. Very few actually take the time to explain the facts to their potential customers - see Excuse Me, But There's No Such Thing as a Family Crest for one company which does.
Except for a few individual exceptions from some parts of Eastern Europe, there is no such thing as a coat of arms for a surname or family name. Coats of arms belong to individuals, not families or surnames. For a person to have a right to a coat of arms, they must have either had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. How could a company that has not researched your family tree know whether you have inherited the right to display a particular coat of arms? If you're looking for something fun then these gifts are OK, though misrepresentative, but if you're looking for something from your own family history, then stay away!
Fraudulent Software & Services
There are a few genealogy software products and online services on the market which have been accused of misleading advertising. This isn't to say that they are fraudulent in the true sense of the word, but they are charging you for something you could get on your own for free. The general premise of such programs (including the software programs Genealogy Detective, Net Detective and EZ Detective) and online genealogy services (including FamilyDiscovery.com, Genseekers.com and Genealogy-Express.com) is that they have accumulated links to genealogy Web sites with pertinent information and surname data and made it easy for you to browse and categorize them. Basically they are charging you for the time they claim to save by having done the search work for you. The genealogy data they link to, however, would have been freely available to you even without the program, due to the generous contributions of thousands of volunteers which have helped to put it on the Web. There are many free online alternatives to help you find this same free genealogy data, including the About Genealogy Resource Library, Cyndi's List, and Rootsweb.
