I often receive emails claiming that I am the long-lost son of a millionaire who put money in trust for me in a foreign bank account and that all I have to do is provide some personal information to prove my identity to claim it. This is a type of scam that is becoming more frequent.
As tempting as the invitations seem, they are nothing but fraudulent attempts to get your money. However, there are still possibilities to collect unclaimed money that might be owed to you.
Our struggling economy has been the cause of many recent failures of businesses and financial institutions. As the failed institutions are liquidated, the funds are turned over to a government agency and held for the rightful owners to claim. If you do an internet search, you will find a variety of websites that will āassistā you in collecting what is owed to you. Again, be cautious. Many of these sites will charge a fee for their assistance. You donāt need their assistance. You can go directly to the source. At the website www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Government-Unclaimed-Money.shtml you are on an official government website that will connect you with a variety of agencies holding billions of dollars in trust for claimants.
For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures bank depositors. Depositors of failed banks will have funds waiting for their collection if they havenāt previously claimed them. Similarly, the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) holds unclaimed deposits from liquidated credit unions. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation holds undistributed pension benefits of failed businesses for distribution to qualified pension recipients.
The resource that hit home for me was the Cash Dash program managed by the Illinois State Treasurer. The Cash Dash program holds unclaimed property for people, businesses, and heirs who may be owed money by the State of Illinois. At the web site: www.treasurer.il.gov/index.aspx you can perform an online search to determine if you are owed money held in the Illinois Cash Dash fund.
I had long forgotten about a small investment we had made in a start-up company a number of years ago. The company went under, and we assumed that our investment went up in smoke. I performed an online search to find out that an amount was waiting for me at Cash Dash! All that I had to do was file the claim and submit proof of my identity. Who knows, you may find out that one of your relatives had a savings account in your name that they forgot to tell you about. It is worth checking.
Keep those letters coming, folks. Send your ideas to: The Frugal Forum, P.O. Box 693, Huntley, IL 60142 or by email to: thefrugalforum@gmail.com
