There is no questioning that the amount of unclaimed money or property being held by both State and Federal agencies is staggering and growing each year ? current estimate is believed to be in excess of $40 BILLION.
On the prowl for new sources of revenue, cash-strapped States are pouncing on UNCLAIMED PROPERTY by shortening the 'dormancy' period of most abandoned property and strictly enforcing their statues for holders or companies to transfer over these funds to the State's custody. If a state audit discovers the company has been laxed or under reported these funds face stiff fines. As a result in the past few years, millions of unclaimed accounts worth over a $ billion are transferred to the States each year.
With all that said, the emergence of Unclaimed Money web sites have appeared on the Internet hoping to gain from such. Some are legit and do offer a valuable service and information to assist one in locating an unclaimed or lost asset. However, many offer a useless, misleading and costly service especially those that market themselves as "FREE" and "INSTANT" searches.
Here is the 3-prong trap and how it works:
There is NO National database for unclaimed accounts. Every State has its own Unclaimed Property Division and each Federal agency handles its own unclaimed accounts. All of the former and many of the latter have online databases for one to search.
The web sites have collected a few millions names with unclaimed accounts from States' online databases that can be readily done with software that converts the online information into their own database. With more than maybe over 100 million unclaimed accounts nationwide, processing only 5 million accounts, their database will likely have 90%+ of all American last/surnames.
One is asked to insert your name into their search box?and the "Instant' result says there is i.e.) $25,000 of unclaimed money in your name. Well, there can be many/hundreds of others with your name and their software generates varies spellings or numerous first initials to inflate the dollar amount. I.e.) if your name was Cathy Stevens, the dollar amount would include ? C. Stevens, Kathy Stevens, K. Stevens etc. trying to lure you into subscribing.
The 2nd tier of the trap is more serious. They purport that they normally charge i.e.) $29.95 for a single search, but a special promotion allows unlimited searches for 30 days for only $12.95 ? a deal right?! First of all, to conduct a thorough search, one needs to be checking regularly to find any lost asset. Their database is maybe 5% of all accounts and likely never refreshed ? too timely and expensive. And no incentive, they have 90% of all surnames.
It gets better/worse. If one does not read the terms and conditions, you will be charged $29.95 at the end of the 30 day period if you do not cancel the subscription. Based on one's credit card billing cycle, one may not see the second charge (assuming you forgot to cancel) in your statement until still another $29.95 is charged to your credit card.
Last, some of these services purport a 100% money back guarantee. One gets his subscription back if the State says the unclaimed account found in their database is not yours? Their database information was lifted from the State's database. The information that accompanies the unclaimed account will definitely tell one if it is yours. One only gets a refund if the State refuses to return your rightful account. That is not legally possible. The guarantee is worthless. Plus any written correspondence to the State could take 4-6 months to confirm that the unclaimed account was never yours.
Here are the sites that offer such services. They mask themselves under various URLs, but appear to be the same according to 'Whois'.
www.cashunclaimed |
www.cashclaim |
www.Lost-Money.CashClaim.com |
www.USunclaimed.com |
www.Unclaimed-Prop.CashClaim.com |
There are sites out here that offer a valuable service for assisting one in locating unclaimed or lost assets just be cautious of these common and costly traps. The only thorough way to locate one's unclaimed property is to regularly check with all databases for the States in which one has ever lived or worked in, as well as, other Federal databases.
Thomas Tuke is the CEO of American Refund Services specializing in assisting others locate their unclaimed accounts without paying a Finder's Fee.
http://www.unclaimed-databases.com
same day cleaning service Des Plaines ..Why not run a lucrative paper business? Paper businesses do... Read More
If you're wondering where to create passive income, then you... Read More
Whenever we read about building wealth or even attend a... Read More
Everyone dreams of early retirement. The idea of no longer... Read More
You can learn the secrets of world monetary flow if... Read More
If you're reading this article, it means you are a... Read More
Is it hard to get rich? If you're young, not... Read More
Most people want to get to the end of their... Read More
"Any fool can rich, the wise get wealthy." Chris WidenerGetting... Read More
Have you any idea how many people search Google every... Read More
This 4,000 acre sale (now a marina and resort town... Read More
Everyone wants to be wealthy, but most of us do... Read More
There is no need to use the many middleman websites... Read More
The four main steps in building a wealth cycle foundation... Read More
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes -- Envision your life 10... Read More
Money is probably the most challenging thing for many people... Read More
Feel like a lemming lately? Ready to follow the crowd... Read More
As a work at home Mother, I know the value... Read More
An ellipsis to your success is hidden in the word... Read More
No matter how tight things are financially for you; no... Read More
In today's unpredictable global economy, you obviously never know what... Read More
I have a good friend who works in an area... Read More
Six out of six people who were asked to list... Read More
Top Investment PerformanceThroughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial... Read More
"Ooooooh," you may say, "I could NEVER be good at... Read More
home cleaning services Mundelein ..Like I said, If you are poor and on social... Read More
Have you wondered why financial experts only tell you certain... Read More
Yesterday we learned that 74% of all wealth is created... Read More
Everyone dreams of early retirement. The idea of no longer... Read More
"If you know how to spend less than you get,... Read More
1) Pay off your loan, credit and store card debt... Read More
Before I had a lot of money, I was really... Read More
Despite what you may have read or heard, anyone is... Read More
Is accumulating wealth as easy as following a 3-step plan?... Read More
When Building Wealth by Russ Whitney was released a few... Read More
Most people want to get to the end of their... Read More
The inability to come up with the necessary cash when... Read More
When Ben Franklin said "a penny saved is a penny... Read More
In most societies, we are raised to believe in the... Read More
When you purchased your home, you most likely got a... Read More
At any time in history, no matter what the current... Read More
What if I were to tell you that almost everything... Read More
They are the object of thinly disguised envy. They are... Read More
What does becoming rich mean to you? Is it early... Read More
Very few people whom I know are familiar with the... Read More
How many people search Google, Yahoo and MSN each day... Read More
No one has complete control over their thoughts. But with... Read More
Planning for the undesired, accidents and possible unknowns in life.... Read More
Let's begin easing you out of the pits. I mean,... Read More
Key 1 Pay your self firstkey 2 Saving is not... Read More
Wealth Building |