HARRISBURG, Pa. — People are getting a letter in the mail claiming they have unclaimed property and a company can find it for you, for a fee.
FOX43 Finds Out took that letter to the Pennsylvania Treasurer to see what she has to say about it.
"This one I would consider a little scammy," said Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
Garrity says the letter claiming to be from Hollister, Scott & Hall is not the first time someone has tried to make a buck off of your unclaimed funds.
"This is somebody that asking for money to tell you that you have unclaimed property, something that anybody can find out either by going on the website or making a phone call," the Treasurer continued, "Basically they give you unclaimed funds order information form and it basically says check here send your $30 back and all they're going to do is send you something they're going to pull right off of the website that says here you go, You have unclaimed property in Pennsylvania. They're going to tell you it's more than $100 or less than $100. Then you still have to go through the exact same process to fill out the claim and get it processed. I have a lot of people who receive things like this and I say, 'Don't do it. It's not necessary.'"
It's not necessary because you can do it all yourself on the PA treasury website. Pennsylvania has $4.5 billion worth of unclaimed property ranging from material items like a blinged-out necklace to cold hard cash.
"One out of 10 Pennsylvanians have unclaimed property, the average claim is about $1,600," Garrity told FOX43 News.
Here's how you can find your unclaimed funds in less than a minute:
The state has a whole search engine online or you can call 800-222-2046 to check if you have unclaimed funds. If you think maybe this letter was sent to you because you may have money in another state, think again.
"You can go to MissingMoney.com and get a list of unclaimed property in any of the 46 states that participate plus Puerto Rico and a Province in Canada. So it's very simple.," said Treasurer Garrity.
In Pennsylvania, there is something called a "finder" for unclaimed funds.
Garrity said, "These finders will pay $300, they'll get a disk with a listing of everybody's unclaimed property. So obviously they're going to go to people who have high amounts who don't know they have unclaimed property. They're going to contact them and say, hey we can help you."
By law, that finder has to be registered with the state. FOX43 Finds Out checked that registry. Hollister, Scott and Hall is not a registered finder. We couldn't find even a website or phone number for this firm.
We did find a Hollister, Scott and Hall that registered for an LLC this past July. It was filed by a law firm in Wyoming that claims to specialize in same-day LLC filings. But the mailing address doesn't match up to the letter we found.
So, we sent some snail mail to both of those addresses. We'll let you know if we hear back.
Recently, the Washington State Department of Revenue warned people of a similar scam under the name "Hollister Smith Holdings."
We asked the state treasurer if there is anything the state can do to go after people who are sending these letters. She said, "We looked at and unfortunately, while it's scammy. It's not illegal. So, you helping us get the word out if somebody comes to you, whether it's somebody wanting to tell you that you have unclaimed property or somebody wanting to file the claim for you, there's not reason to do that. You just go to the Pennsylvania Treasury and we'll help you get your money back."
There is a bill in the general assembly that could change this process. PA Senate Bill 24 would allow the treasury to proactively give unclaimed money back to anyone who is living- up to $5,000.
The department estimates that would help an additional 15,000 Pennsylvanians a year. The bill passed the Senate and is now in the House for consideration.
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