Is finding assets a scam?
mm
he had found an asset in her name. He wanted to know if I knew of
assets I hadn't collected yet, and if I told him what they were, he
would tell me if the asset he had found was one of them.
If it wasn't something I was aware of, he wanted to tell me what it
was so I could go get it, in return for iirc 1/3 of the value of the
asset.
This seems fair to me, but a woman I met who works at the register of
wills told me it was a scam.
That he should tell me what the asset is first. If he did that, lots
of people would go collect it and give him nothing. Why should he set
himself up for that?
An heir B dealing with this man A should list on the form B signs for
A every outstanding asset that B knows about and note that the rest of
the form only covers other unknown assets, not these. Doesn't that
protect B?
Is this a scam, or is this an honest plan that's similar to other
scams?
Maybe I didn't explain it to the woman well enough.
Gordon Burditt
>he had found an asset in her name. He wanted to know if I knew of
>assets I hadn't collected yet, and if I told him what they were, he
>would tell me if the asset he had found was one of them.
Many states have web sites where you can search for unclaimed
property. One of these is claimittexas.org (for Texas, obviously).
(Allegedly, 1/4 of all Texans are listed there.) There's also
www.unclaimed.org, which can direct you to an appropriate site for
your state. I suggest that you look at these sites and see if you
can find it yourself. Look under your name and your mother's name.
While you're there, you might try the names of close relatives also:
you might be able to give them some good news. Don't limit yourself
to YOUR state. Things like lost dividend checks or refunds might
be listed under the state of the company involved. Or it might be
listed with a previous residence.
Some people troll these sites and contact people listed to make a
deal like what you described. The person contacting you may not
know that they've contacted the right person, especially if you
have a common name.
>If it wasn't something I was aware of, he wanted to tell me what it
>was so I could go get it, in return for iirc 1/3 of the value of the
>asset.
Beware of charges that might end up being more than you end up paying
to get it. The "lost" money might be 13 cents of bank interest credited
after you thought you closed an account, and 1/3 of that plus a postage
stamp would cost more than the asset.
>This seems fair to me, but a woman I met who works at the register of
>wills told me it was a scam.
You may be able to find it yourself. Someone may simply be lying
about the asset and want you to put up money up front so they can
steal the up-front money. Or the deal might be exactly as represented.
>That he should tell me what the asset is first. If he did that, lots
>of people would go collect it and give him nothing. Why should he set
>himself up for that?
Then again, why should you give him a whole THIRD of it?
I'd want an approximate value: $1, $10, $100, $1,000, $10,000,
more? With the deal as represented, it's apparently worth HIS time
to try to get 1/3 of it.
>An heir B dealing with this man A should list on the form B signs for
>A every outstanding asset that B knows about and note that the rest of
>the form only covers other unknown assets, not these. Doesn't that
>protect B?
If B lists a whole bunch of outstanding assets, then he's perhaps
giving A enough information for A to go claim those assets for
himself. I also don't want to risk giving up 1/3 of something that
I know perfectly well where it is, but by some glitch someone at
that bank thinks it's "lost".
>Is this a scam, or is this an honest plan that's similar to other
>scams?
It could be a scam. It could be someone honestly trying to earn
money by returning unclaimed money to people, and taking a cut of
it. There are sites and infomercials that advertise "YOU CAN MAKE
*BIG MONEY* FINDING OWNERS OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY", and that kind
of pitch attracts scammers, but it's not by itself dishonest.
I once found on one of the unclaimed property web sites some property
belonging to my sister. I told her about it without trying to grab
any money from her. She knew about it but didn't know how to claim
it, until I contacted her. She got a couple of hundred dollars
worth of stock that somehow got lost.
>Maybe I didn't explain it to the woman well enough.
It still could be a scam. It might be that there really is a *huge*
amount of money, he wants to return it to her, then marry her, and
kill her off and inherit. That's unlikely, though.
Stuart A. Bronstein
> My mother died some time ago, and recently someone called me and
> said he had found an asset in her name. He wanted to know if I
> knew of assets I hadn't collected yet, and if I told him what
> they were, he would tell me if the asset he had found was one of
> them.
>
> If it wasn't something I was aware of, he wanted to tell me what
> it was so I could go get it, in return for iirc 1/3 of the value
> of the asset.
>
> This seems fair to me, but a woman I met who works at the
> register of wills told me it was a scam.
It's not necessarily a scam. But the "heir chasers" I've worked
with don't work that way.
> That he should tell me what the asset is first. If he did that,
> lots of people would go collect it and give him nothing. Why
> should he set himself up for that?
Normally what they do is tell you about what the value is, and have
you sign a contract that says that you'll pay their fee if those
assets are truly lost. Then they disclose it.
If this is legitimate and there's enough money involved, you should
be hearing from other people, too, who might do the same work for a
lower fee, and in a less suspicious manner.
You should also contact your state's lost property division of the
government, because many of these are under their control.
Barry Gold
>My mother died some time ago, and recently someone called me and said
>he had found an asset in her name. He wanted to know if I knew of
>assets I hadn't collected yet, and if I told him what they were, he
>would tell me if the asset he had found was one of them.
>
>If it wasn't something I was aware of, he wanted to tell me what it
>was so I could go get it, in return for iirc 1/3 of the value of the
>asset.
There are several problems with this. One is the size of the reward
that he is asking. Most "asset recovery" firms charge 10%, _not_ 1/3.
Another is that he wants you to describe the asset. You don't have to
do anything like that -- you can go ahead and collect on the assets
you _do_ know about. Don't forget to check your state's register of
"unclaimed property". Frinstance, in California that is the state
Controller's office, and you can search online at
http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/
YOu should probably do this in every state where she has lived.
*After* you have collected what you can on your own, _then_ you should
contact this person and negotiate a fee -- an amount you will pay him
*if* the asset in question is not one you have already found and
recovered. This avoids arguments over whether you only "found" it
because he told you about it.
Key points:
1. It is reasonable for him to ask you to sign a contract granting him
some percentage of whatever you collect.
2. Do not agree to pay him unconditionally, or that you will let him
recover it for you, or even that you _will_ recover it. Some assets
are simply not worth the effort to find and make 'certified' copies of
the docuentation needed to recover them. So his getting paid should
be conditioned on you actually receiving the asset, and you should
have the final decision on whether it is worth your while to do so.
--
Barry Gold, webmaster:
Conchord: http://www.conchord.org
Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc.: http://www.lasfsinc.org
slide
> My mother died some time ago, and recently someone called me and said
> he had found an asset in her name. He wanted to know if I knew of
> assets I hadn't collected yet, and if I told him what they were, he
> would tell me if the asset he had found was one of them.
>
I don't see how it can be a scam and didn't see when I was likewise
approached.
I spent some time sailing using a Florida address as a mail stop. A few
years later, after selling the boat and leaving any and all associations
with Florida, I got a letter saying I had several hundred dollars (it
gave a specific amount) of claimable assets in Florida. For 1/3 cut, the
sender of the letter would claim the assets and remit me the 2/3.
I signed the agreement figuring nothing to lose as I had no idea what
the asset may be. A few weeks later I got a check from the sender with
the promised amount.
Now could the asset have been worth $10,000 and I only ended up with a
few hundred? Yes, that's possible, but from my POV, I still ended up a
few hundred ahead of where I was. To this day, I have no idea what that
asset may have been.
me234...@privacy.net
Well you don't say where you live. If you live in the USA many States
have online searches for unclaimed assets so you can do a search yourself.
I personally don't establish business with a person that cold calls me. I
don't care if it is a magazine subscription or a claim of *found* lost
money for a fee.
If the person wants the money up front for the unclaimed assets then it
is most likely a scam.
--
Best Regards, Keith
http://home.comcast.net/~kilowattradio/
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