Unclaimed property at heart of scam warning

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel is warning residents of an unclaimed property scam using a letter purporting to be from the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) and instructing the recipient to pay a fee to receive unclaimed property.

While it is an existing organization of which Missouri is a member, NAUPA does not directly contact owners of unclaimed property, instead leaving that to member states.

"If you have unclaimed property in Missouri, you can always receive it free of charge by working with my office," Zweifel said. "You will never be required to go through a third party to claim what I protect. If you have questions or need help claiming your Unclaimed Property, please email my office at [email protected]."

Zweifel's office oversees more than $929 million in unclaimed property in 5 million accounts. You can check for unclaimed property list at any time at ShowMeMoney.com to begin the claims process free of charge.

You may also check for unclaimed property outside of Missouri at Unclaimed.org, a website administered by NAUPA. It provides links to other states where you can also search free of charge.

If you believe you are a victim of this scam, contact the Missouri Attorney General's Consumer Protection hotline at 800-392-8222 to file a complaint.