Q: ok i think im prob in the wrong place but 2 years ago my family had a call out of the blue from a girl aged 23 saying that she was a long lost sister of my mum and aunt (my grandad it seems had an affair with his Nigerian maid) everything seems to add up as he was away at the time the girl was concieved and born however as my grandad has passed away and he is the only one with the answers i dont know where to turn or where i can obtain her birth certificate or something to prove my grandad is the father. The girl still hasnt sent any documents over after a lot of promises so this is stopping my family welcoming her as our own obviously being Nigerian you hear of these scams so we are all on tenterhooks but feel there is def truth in the matter. Thank you for any advice you can provide Gemma
A: I would treat this with a great deal of suspicion, Gemma. Unfortunately Nigeria is the source of a great many scams, some of them very original. I have heard of some of the scammer's using genealogy sites to ingratiate themselves with their victims by matching data up. If you are dead set on exploring the possibility I would be asking her for all possible information. e.g place of conception, how they met etc etc. You didn't mention as to where the affair may have happened. If it was out of his native country perhaps you may be able to check his passport to see if he was in the specified location at the time. I would be wary of accepting any documentation such as birth certificates that she may provide as the scammers are very good at creating these things. Of course if she starts to ask for money to "assist" her to prove herself then I would definitely run a mile. Then I would be asking her if she would be prepared to submit to a DNA test. A comparison between your mother and her would soon show if they had a common paternity.