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
Lincoln Stretch rentals Alsip ..Results from a new tool developed by UK based firm,... Read More
You can learn the secrets of world monetary flow if... Read More
Have you ever asked yourself what your highest income producing... Read More
Do you ever get this in your email box: Find... Read More
Giving and ReceivingIt seems that people generally find it easy... Read More
The word 'diversity' is a unique one. It can represent... Read More
A mole travels one road, according to the way nature... Read More
No one has complete control over their thoughts. But with... Read More
No matter how tight things are financially for you; no... Read More
What if I were to tell you that almost everything... Read More
We will start the Financial Fitness System with the assumption... Read More
Building wealth is as simple as saving a little bit... Read More
Despite what you may have read or heard, anyone is... Read More
In light of the dominant mindset overshadowing the market these... Read More
Masters degree not required...just a little common sense, a $5.00... Read More
Why not run a lucrative paper business? Paper businesses do... Read More
So you want to become wealthy? While there is no... Read More
A surprising number of readers want to know "Can a... Read More
Parents must give serious thought to protecting their family through... Read More
Whenever we read about building wealth or even attend a... Read More
Let's begin this lesson with a definition of the term... Read More
It is with great pleasure of having you here at... Read More
There are many wealth creation strategies and investment techniques available... Read More
Six out of six people who were asked to list... Read More
Many of us do not consider the underlying belief system... Read More
Western Springs shuttle limo ..Many of us do not consider the underlying belief system... Read More
Steve Martin once delivered an opening monologue for Saturday Night... Read More
Perhaps the primary message of Rich Dad, Poor Dad is... Read More
Vacation season is upon us and it can be tempting... Read More
So you want to become wealthy? While there is no... Read More
You may think you have to be an entrepreneur to... Read More
Turn to the year 1999, a couple of friends sitting... Read More
Let me ask you a very simple question. Do you... Read More
At any time in history, no matter what the current... Read More
According to Wallace Wattles, in his popular wealth treatise called... Read More
Every day you work is one day closer to your... Read More
Wealth Secret 1 - Decide Your Outcome Right Now.Unless you... Read More
If you're wondering where to create passive income, then you... Read More
An ellipsis to your success is hidden in the word... Read More
It is with great pleasure of having you here at... Read More
The inability to come up with the necessary cash when... Read More
We talked recently about the wealth formula:Spend less than you... Read More
Most people know it's important to keep and organize all... Read More
My First Million took me exactly 27 months to achieve.... Read More
Financial independence is having the freedom to support yourself through... Read More
At any time in history, no matter what the current... Read More
There is perhaps no more important decision than to take... Read More
Paper burns and large companies can go bankrupt, but if... Read More
In light of the dominant mindset overshadowing the market these... Read More
Recently I was reading a book called The Millionaire Mind.... Read More
Wealth Building |