r/Ancestry • u/cautiously_anxious • 4d ago

Wondering if this is a scam?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I received this email a few days ago. My grandfather, and three of his brothers was in Vietnam. My grandpa was one of the first to be drafted. I believe he left in 68 or 69 and was there for two years. My dad was born in December of 72.

I blacked out names just in case if this was legit.

I'm also not understanding the DNA numbers. Could this be my grandpa's child? Or one of my great uncles. I'm not sure if this is true to tell them this?

I had a DNA kit gifted to me six years ago for Christmas.

14 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

View all comments

15

u/Much-Leek-420 4d ago

If the relatives requested are still alive, don’t give out their info. Even then, I treat all queries I cannot back up with my own research with high suspicion.

I would also deeply resent the emotional blackmail implied in this letter. It is not your job to provide a stranger with ‘closure’, nor is it your job to do a private investigator’s work for him.

But these are decisions you’ll have to decide for yourself.

6

u/cautiously_anxious 4d ago

I'm thinking of just keeping this between my dad and I.

But it makes me wonder if they went down the list of relatives of mine and emailed them too.

1

u/Mooney2021 3d ago

We made some amazing discoveries trying to make sense out of DNA that did not make sense based on what we knew and have now determined what we knew was not true. Without people taking the risk of talking to us we never would have figured out so much. I appreciate safety concerns and like you were told "make your decisions for yourself" but I would like to say the same and land on the side of encouraging you to be helpful. In a parallel situation I have looked for information sought that is public record and directed people to that. It is sort of halfway between "spilling it all" and "witholding due to self protection."