E-Mail Scam Entraps Louisianan on National Unclaimed Property

John Kennedy, a Louisiana Treasurer (US) raised alarm for the residents of Louisiana against real-estate e-mail scam. People are warned against indulging themselves into unclaimed and illegal property, reports theadvertiser on August 5, 2011.

As per the fraudulent mail, the association is holding a rewarding package for the individual who will provide their personal data, such as name, address, age, telephone number, and other vital data for retrieving an unclaimed asset. Kennedy also said that the response of the e-mails is received by a contact bearing an international telephone number.

Kennedy warned localities of Louisiana to maintain special surveillance against any such mail requesting for personal information for supposedly found unclaimed property. Kennedy specially recommended people that Louisiana's Unclaimed Property Division is the only acclaimed authority to carry on investigation for an unclaimed property and not general public, reports HTV10 on August 8, 2011.

While acknowledging the role of Unclaimed Property Division, Kennedy also claimed that only this organization holds the authority to investigate on such issues and make a claim. This indicates that all other claims by any other association apart from the authoritative Division, is unjustified.

While explaining one of the fraudulent messages of the scam, Kennedy referred to the mail by which, the consignee did not even properly declared the concerned property as cash and rather claimed it as a personal effect in order to avoid diversion by the Shipping Agent.

However the e-mail scam holds similarity to scams from other countries due to awkward phrasing.

According to the treasurer, individual state programs as in the case of Louisiana is the only legit portal for searching and claiming unclaimed property.

Further, this is not certainly the first occasion for such type of e-mail scamming. During the initial period of August 2011, Clint Zweifel, Missouri's Treasurer also notified of such an e-mail scam. By the claim, the recipient owed $2.8 Million in unclaimed property revealed from a metal trunk, as per a statement published on the official site of Missouri State Treasurer.

Kennedy also advised that any such suspicious e-mails seeking personal information from a recipient should either be deleted immediately or rather reported.

Last but not the least, Kennedy and NAUPA jointly encouraged people to immediately report any such suspicious unclaimed property to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) online at www.ic3.gov and the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. NAUPA has even published online such fraudulent content for common people.

Related article: E-Crime Reporting Format To Be Launched in July

» SPAMfighter News - 8/17/2011