State Officials: Beware Of Unclaimed Funds Scams

The Ohio Department of Commerce sent out a warning to Ohioans on Tuesday about an unclaimed funds scam.

State officials said that an Internet company has been charging residents for unclaimed fund searches and is issuing fraudulent claim forms.

Officials ordered a cease and desist order against Unclaimed Money, LLC, which operates as Unclaimed Monedb.com, 10TV’s Kristyn Hartman reported.

Investigators said that the scam requires the user to pay a membership fee in order to join the Web site, search for and receive unclaimed funds.

The company then issues a phony claim form, which appears to be from the state of Ohio, Hartman reported.

According to David Goodman, the Director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, officials have received several of the phony forms, which often have the property identification number belonging to someone else.

“It’s shameful for a company to lure Ohioans in and try to take their money from them,” Goodman said. “We simply won’t stand for it.”

Officials said that consumers should never have to pay for information about unclaimed money, Hartman reported.

There are two official Web sites that Ohioans can use to received unclaimed funds, run by the Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds and the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.

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