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I get mail that says I have money coming to me. Is it a scam?
— Joseph

Suze: Not always. Just a few years ago, they passed a law that says these banks can actually contact you to let you know you have money with them. Why do they need to contact you? Because you are all just scatterbrains when it comes to money! You open up a bank account, but you forget you did. You put a deposit down on utility companies, but you forget you did. And then, they can't find you because you are moving so often. So, they will send you a letter saying they owe you money. You'll think it's a scam, but it's not.

When is it a scam? If they are charging you. If they say, "Send in $50 and we will show you we have $5,000 for you." Take the thing and throw it out. The states just want to give you back your money. The banks want to give you back your money. You just don't want to take it. So, it's not a scam if they are not asking for money.

Are you wondering if you have unclaimed money? You might want to go online to check. Go to:

Unclaimed.org
MissingMoney.com
Treasury.gov

I did it a while ago, and I was owed $6,000. So if it can happen to me, it can happen to you.

Next: Should you sign up for department store credit cards?

Published 01/03/2011