Letters saying "you may be owed money" are often real: surplus funds and unclaimed property are public record, and finders legitimately contact owners. But the same public records attract scammers. Here's how to tell the difference.
Red flags
- Upfront fees. Being asked to pay before you receive anything, especially by gift card, wire or crypto.
- No specifics. They won't name the court, county or agency holding the money, or the case number.
- Pressure. "Sign today or lose it forever" when you haven't been shown the deadline in writing.
- Requests for full SSN or bank logins by phone, text or email before any agreement exists.
- Look-alike government branding. Real agencies don't charge to return your money.
- Hiding your options. They never mention that you can claim directly yourself.
What a legitimate company does
- Tells you where the funds are held, so you can verify them yourself.
- Puts the fee in a written agreement before any work, within your state's legal limits.
- Collects the fee only from funds actually recovered.
- Tells you, up front, that you may claim directly at no cost.
- Gives you a real business name, address and email domain you can check.
How to check a letter yourself
- Look up the court or county clerk's phone number independently (not from the letter).
- Ask whether funds are held for the case number or your name.
- Search your state's unclaimed property site through unclaimed.org.
- If something feels wrong, report it to your state attorney general or the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
You can reach us only through our own domain: contact@assetbridgegroup.org, info@assetbridgegroup.org and support@assetbridgegroup.org.
