Potential Fraud
Stick with me here. I know you read the title and your eyes glazed over, sure that I'm either going to talk about something boring or try to sell you something. Well, you're partially right - I want to sell you knowledge, but I think it's so important for you to have that instead of selling it, I'm giving it away for free.
About a week ago I got a two-page letter in the mail from Estate Trust Asset Recovery. It's a company I'd never heard of before. Immediately, I was suspicious. They have my current address in SF, as well as the address where I'd lived in Florida. The letter is a refund notice, saying Progressive, which I did have car insurance with years ago, owes me $405. And if I'll just send a copy of my driver's license along with providing the last four digits of my social security number, they'll send me $356.50, taking out $48.50 as their processing fee.
Hey, I'm out of work. Money sounds good to me these days. I can't figure out why on earth Progressive would owe me money, since I sold my car only a few days before my car insurance policy expired though...
And I was totally prepared to go claim my money up until I noticed where, on the second page, I'm asked for the last four digits of my social security number. You may think it's nothing, because what can they do without the entire SS#? However.
At least twenty years ago, the Yogurt Family was on vacation in New Hampshire with family friends. The adults were sitting on couches and chairs while the kids were on the floor playing. The other dad was talking about fraud, and he said that it's really easy to con people. He gave the example that if you tell someone the first three numbers of their social security number, they'll probably tell you the rest of it. Even though surely millions of people must have the same first three numbers. I don't know how I managed to remember that, but it stuck with me.
I'm one of those people who should follow their gut. My gut always protects me. Sometimes I put in more effort than I needed to, but I'd rather do that than not put in the effort when I should and have problems. Listen to your gut, people. The gift of fear really IS a gift.
The refund notice I got doesn't list any portion of my social security number. But I'm really careful about who I give any of it out to. So I did what any smart consumer would do. I called my daddy. Who suggested I call the Attorney General's Office in Florida. Which I did.
I spoke with a very nice woman named Samantha, explaining I wanted to check on the legitimacy of a refund notice. Samantha told me, in her deep Southern accent, that she'd already gotten 11 calls regarding this company. That if I wanted to know if I was truly owed any money, I should look at FLTreasureHunt.org. Which I did.
And I came to this page. Hmm. I looked at this page too. It's looking more and more like I am not owed any money. When moving West, I did not call Progressive to cancel my policy with them, knowing that it was only a few days. So they should not owe me money.
But I decided to call Progressive. Just in case. Because what I used to do was, each time my insurance policy was about to expire, I'd shop around to see where I could get the lowest rate. I switched between Progressive and Allstate multiple times. In speaking with Dara at Progressive, I was told that in 2001 (years before I sold my car to move to SF), I did cancel a policy with them after only two months and they DID try to refund me $405. I asked Nina how it is that they tried and failed, since I was living at the same address for four years. And that's how it is that I'm now on hold while Dara is researching the answer to that question with her accounting department.
My goal, now that I know I am in fact owed money, is to get all of it, as opposed to having a portion go to a company that handles refunding money. I'll let you know how that goes.
The State of Florida hires companies to handle refunds for them, and apparently they're allowed to take a percentage of the money owed. In looking at that Treasure Hunt page, I see that Estate Trust Asset Recovery is listed a company hired by the state. Thus, legitimate.
While on hold, Samantha called me back, and said I should pursue my money through the state, if not through Progressive directly. Dara said her accounting department needs to research this whole thing, since it's so old. She personally will call me back around the end of this week.
Obviously, since I was expecting nothing, $356.50 would be great, and I should be happy with that. However, if by simply making a few phone calls I can get almost $50 more, I'd like that. If I can't, then that's fine, and now that I see this is a real company. Though I can't help but wonder why Samantha said that she's gotten 11 complaints about Estate Trust...
Yeah, so I'm holding out for Dara. She's going to call me back by the end of the week, after having her accounting people research this.
*********************************
I blogged this all while making these phone calls and doing the research. You might say that since I found out everything is legitimate, I wasted my time. I disagree with that. If you've ever talked with anyone who's been a victim of identity theft, you'll agree with me that it's worth being careful to ensure you don't become another victim. It's worth spending an hour (and yes, I'd have spent this time even if I were working) to make sure you're not going to have to spend YEARS clearing up identity theft problems.
Also, I know the majority of my readers are from California. Here's the website for the CA Attorney General's Office. Don't get screwed over, people.
About a week ago I got a two-page letter in the mail from Estate Trust Asset Recovery. It's a company I'd never heard of before. Immediately, I was suspicious. They have my current address in SF, as well as the address where I'd lived in Florida. The letter is a refund notice, saying Progressive, which I did have car insurance with years ago, owes me $405. And if I'll just send a copy of my driver's license along with providing the last four digits of my social security number, they'll send me $356.50, taking out $48.50 as their processing fee.
Hey, I'm out of work. Money sounds good to me these days. I can't figure out why on earth Progressive would owe me money, since I sold my car only a few days before my car insurance policy expired though...
And I was totally prepared to go claim my money up until I noticed where, on the second page, I'm asked for the last four digits of my social security number. You may think it's nothing, because what can they do without the entire SS#? However.
At least twenty years ago, the Yogurt Family was on vacation in New Hampshire with family friends. The adults were sitting on couches and chairs while the kids were on the floor playing. The other dad was talking about fraud, and he said that it's really easy to con people. He gave the example that if you tell someone the first three numbers of their social security number, they'll probably tell you the rest of it. Even though surely millions of people must have the same first three numbers. I don't know how I managed to remember that, but it stuck with me.
I'm one of those people who should follow their gut. My gut always protects me. Sometimes I put in more effort than I needed to, but I'd rather do that than not put in the effort when I should and have problems. Listen to your gut, people. The gift of fear really IS a gift.
The refund notice I got doesn't list any portion of my social security number. But I'm really careful about who I give any of it out to. So I did what any smart consumer would do. I called my daddy. Who suggested I call the Attorney General's Office in Florida. Which I did.
I spoke with a very nice woman named Samantha, explaining I wanted to check on the legitimacy of a refund notice. Samantha told me, in her deep Southern accent, that she'd already gotten 11 calls regarding this company. That if I wanted to know if I was truly owed any money, I should look at FLTreasureHunt.org. Which I did.
And I came to this page. Hmm. I looked at this page too. It's looking more and more like I am not owed any money. When moving West, I did not call Progressive to cancel my policy with them, knowing that it was only a few days. So they should not owe me money.
But I decided to call Progressive. Just in case. Because what I used to do was, each time my insurance policy was about to expire, I'd shop around to see where I could get the lowest rate. I switched between Progressive and Allstate multiple times. In speaking with Dara at Progressive, I was told that in 2001 (years before I sold my car to move to SF), I did cancel a policy with them after only two months and they DID try to refund me $405. I asked Nina how it is that they tried and failed, since I was living at the same address for four years. And that's how it is that I'm now on hold while Dara is researching the answer to that question with her accounting department.
My goal, now that I know I am in fact owed money, is to get all of it, as opposed to having a portion go to a company that handles refunding money. I'll let you know how that goes.
The State of Florida hires companies to handle refunds for them, and apparently they're allowed to take a percentage of the money owed. In looking at that Treasure Hunt page, I see that Estate Trust Asset Recovery is listed a company hired by the state. Thus, legitimate.
While on hold, Samantha called me back, and said I should pursue my money through the state, if not through Progressive directly. Dara said her accounting department needs to research this whole thing, since it's so old. She personally will call me back around the end of this week.
Obviously, since I was expecting nothing, $356.50 would be great, and I should be happy with that. However, if by simply making a few phone calls I can get almost $50 more, I'd like that. If I can't, then that's fine, and now that I see this is a real company. Though I can't help but wonder why Samantha said that she's gotten 11 complaints about Estate Trust...
Yeah, so I'm holding out for Dara. She's going to call me back by the end of the week, after having her accounting people research this.
*********************************
I blogged this all while making these phone calls and doing the research. You might say that since I found out everything is legitimate, I wasted my time. I disagree with that. If you've ever talked with anyone who's been a victim of identity theft, you'll agree with me that it's worth being careful to ensure you don't become another victim. It's worth spending an hour (and yes, I'd have spent this time even if I were working) to make sure you're not going to have to spend YEARS clearing up identity theft problems.
Also, I know the majority of my readers are from California. Here's the website for the CA Attorney General's Office. Don't get screwed over, people.
Labels: Fraud
posted by Green at 8/27/2007 10:37:00 AM
18 Comments:
If they give you even the slightest bit of hassle or grief, contact "7 On Your Side" and Michael Finney at KGO TV Channel 7. He would like to hear about this anyway I'll bet. I was sure it was a scam and would have just torn it up.
I'm thinking get the money back from Progressive directly.
I don't trust anyone, especially not a company from FLorida. Remember, we're the scam capital of the world down here.
I don't trust any company that has my information unless I specifically remember giving it to them.
Screw going through another company, either get it from the one that owes it, or if it's already been reported to the state, file a claim directly with their lost property division. I just had to do this in my state for the company I work for. It was pretty painless, except for having to find a notary to witness the form.
me too, always trust the "belly-ometer" 2/28/08 i got one about an escrow deposit refund for 2nd house i sold almost 10 years ago..like you why give someone 50 bucks for something i can do myself.. money is money especially if its mine..thanks for the validation
I work for a company such as this and I can assure you this is no scam. Our company handles money that is being held by the State of Florida's Department of Financial Services. Many people try to call the state to see what they need and end up using our services anyway! And by the way, WE ALREADY HAVE ALL YOUR INFORMATION INCLUDING YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER! All of our employees have had background checks and are not interested in other people's information anyway! Thanks
AND BY THE WAY, YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN YOU HAD THIS MONEY IF THE COMPANY HADN'T CONTACTED YOU! WHAT'S GIVING 50 DOLLARS OF MONEY YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU HAD?
Why didn't you bother to call the company to get more information. I agree with above, they let you know about money that was due back to you. I had a friend that tried this directly and had to show proof of an address he lived at 7 years ago. How would you be able to do this?
IT IS TRUE. THIS IS A LEGITIMATE COMPANY. I TRIED TO GET THE FULL AMOUNT FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA, BUT THEY REQUIRE PROOF THAT I LIVED AT THE RESIDENCE 10 YEARS AGO (ELECTRIC BILL OR SUCH). I DON'T KEEP THAT STUFF FOR 10 YEARS.
I just received the same 2 letter scam from Estate Trust Asse Recovery, claiming I have $$ owed to me by Citimortgage, which I have never in my life had an account with Citi or any of it's siblings.
My scam radar went off the minute I got this. Thanks for posting your story! I'll forward my scam letters off to "7 on your side" and stuff the postage paid envelope back to the company with old coupons...
I just received a two-page letter from the same company claiming that I am owed money from my`escrow account.
However, I also knew that all prior debts and assets were checked and double-checked during the closing on my house.
I also recognized the amount. It was an old insurance payout that was voided and replaced by another.
The Estate Trust Asset Recovery is a total scam.
First of all, they are registered to a PO Box in Virgina, check out the domain information:
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/estaragency.com
And the agency website they list at the bottom of this letter which is supposedly a government site is also registered in Virginia to a private company. This is impossible, as private people cannot register legitimate .gov addresses.
No offense to the poster above, but they are a moron. The address listed with Network Solutions is just the location of the company that registers domain names for websites.
So, whatever happened to this? Did you get your money back with the appropriate amount deducted for their fee?
For something that may look like it could be for joint account, why doesn't it have the other persons name also?
Its not a scam. I work for an insurance company (health insurance but same concept). Basically at the end of the year if people have not cashed checks we sent them, we can't keep the money because it shows as profits on our books and it really isn't. So to over simplify, we turn the money over to the gov't instead of letting money that is not really ours become taxable income. This is one individual - cases like this add up to millions a year for one company. In essence it comes off of our books and becomes the gov't problem and since when have you known the gov't to be quick in tracking down people to give back money? The insurance company cannot refund the money directly as another person suggested - we don't have it anymore and in some cases, it's been years since these were on the books so even getting access to the info might take some doing. Having said all that, the gov't does hire out agencies to do this work at a cost to the person owed money.
Estate Trust Asset REcovery keep sending people letter like that. I got mine as well. :-(
Thank you! I got a letter, too, and your blog helped me find it through the Florida site.
Thanks to your blog, I checked the link provided and just got me check from the state of Florida - FULL amount - NO processing fee!
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