**Do not send the $1,000.** A request to pay money upfront to “release” an inheritance is a strong sign of an **advance-fee scam**. The FBI specifically warns about inheritance schemes that demand payments for supposed taxes or currency-conversion problems. [FBI warning](https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2007/PSA071214.pdf)

Even if your grandmother really left you an inheritance, someone could be impersonating her lawyer or bank. Genuine estate expenses or bank fees may exist, but this request needs independent verification.

Before paying anything:

- Contact your grandmother’s executor or estate lawyer using contact details you already trust.
- Call the supposed US bank using a number you find independently—not a number or link in their message—and ask it to verify the request.
- Don’t share passwords, verification codes, or identity documents with the person requesting payment.
- **If you already paid, contact your bank’s fraud department immediately** and ask whether the transfer can be stopped or recalled.

Who is asking for the $1,000—a bank, a lawyer, or someone else—and have you already sent any money? You can share the wording of their request with personal and account details removed.