State Treasurer Clint Zweifel is warning Missourians of an email scam being sent nationwide that claims the recipient is owed millions of dollars in unclaimed property discovered during an audit by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).
The current scam email states a fake individual, Alexis James, who claims to be a regional auditor of the national association of unclaimed property administrators, has conducted an audit and found $23 million that belongs to an individual designated next of kin with the same name as the email recipient.
"Missourians should know I never charge to return unclaimed property and every day I am doing all I can to ensure that we use technology in a way to protect your tax dollars and your information," Zweifel said. "If you do not know whether an email is legitimate, contact my office and, most importantly, never send any personal information in response to an unsolicited email. You can forward any suspicious emails to my office at [email protected] and we can help make sure others do not fall victim to this scam."
Zweifel is a member of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, but the group never notifies individuals of Unclaimed Property - that duty is left to individual state treasurers and administrators.
NAUPA encourages individuals to report any suspicious Unclaimed Property communication to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center online at www.ic3.gov.
"My team only sends out emails in certain situations: in response to constituent questions, while working with an individual who has already begun the claims process, to those who have previously filed a claim with new unclaimed property, or to let individuals who have registered for email notifications know of recently added unclaimed property," Zweifel said. "Please contact my team any time you question the validity of an unclaimed property email."