# Another 'is this a scam' request **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042 "2025-05-07T21:56:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/1 "2025-05-07T21:56:20Z")
A coworker of mine, whose husband has recently passed, is getting a lot of this type of stuff in the mail. She wasn’t that involved in her husband’s affairs so has no idea if these things are valid or not. To me it smells very scammy, however, Malia Cohen is a real person. What say the teeming masses? [LINK.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/08eced2d-634e-421a-887e-031c392ba775_l.png) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/2 "2025-05-07T22:01:49Z")
Looks legit to me. The “deadline” isn’t as dire as it would be in a scam and all of the phone numbers etc. check out. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/3 "2025-05-07T22:05:54Z")
I think it’s legit. It’s saying that if you don’t contact this business before the deadline, your money will be turned over to the State…and then you can apply to get it back from the State, with no deadline. Seems like a scam would be “call us at this private number RIGHT NOW or your money will vanish forever”. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/4 "2025-05-07T22:10:07Z")
There’s an unclaimed property website that’s legit, I’ve used it to reclaim insurance payouts that went astray. Google for “unclaimed property [state]” and you should get directly to where you need to be to start the process of claiming it for the estate. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/5 "2025-05-07T22:15:11Z")
Hard to be 100% sure but Malia Cohen appears to be the correct person. As Think.Fish mentioned you can still (eventually) retrieve the property even if it gets sent to the controller’s office. Are you able to verify by entering info on the government website? [https://www.ucpi.sco.ca.gov/en/Property/SearchIndex](https://www.ucpi.sco.ca.gov/en/Property/SearchIndex) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/6 "2025-05-07T22:17:16Z")
I’ll have her check. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/7 "2025-05-07T22:25:59Z")
If the creditor still has the money to give directy to the widow or more properly the estate, good bet the state governmewon’t know anything about it. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/8 "2025-05-07T23:40:41Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > a lot of this type of stuff in the mail By “this type of stuff” do you mean notices about possible unclaimed property? It seems odd to me that she would getting a lot of them, if they are for different businesses and not for the same one over and over. I don’t know how the death of someone would trigger this sort of notification – how would they know he had died? > [@LSLGuy](#): > > If the creditor still has the money to give directy to the widow or more properly the estate, good bet the state governmewon’t know anything about it. Yet. I can imagine a process where the bank (in this case) has a long-dormant account and has notified the state of such, due to government regulations. And, to potentially answer my own question, I suppose the UPD could get notified of all deaths in the state and compare them to their database of soon-to-be-unclaimed property. Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/9 "2025-05-08T00:25:43Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I can imagine a process where the bank (in this case) has a long-dormant account and has notified the state of such, due to government regulations. This is exactly right. I’ve dealt with a bunch of these in California for my father and my long-deceased grandmother, as ignoring things was one of the early signs of his dementia. - You’ll get increasingly frantic letters from the dormant account holder. - You’ll get letters like this from Malia. - You’ll eventually get different letters from Malia saying she has your money, with info on how to retrieve it. - You’ll also get scads of letters from folks offering to “help” retrieve your funds. The last category are the only ones that are scams. There’s no need to pay anybody to recover lost funds from CA. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/10 "2025-05-08T07:47:26Z")
Doesn’t look especially scammy, because: The contact details appear to check out (it would be a different matter and probably a scam if, for example, they were asking you to contact Wells Fargo at a GMail address or something). There’s no mention of a fee that must be paid in order to release the fund. Nothing about Modalities or the Grace of God. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/11 "2025-05-08T15:15:42Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > By “this type of stuff” do you mean notices about possible unclaimed property? It seems odd to me that she would getting a lot of them, if they are for different businesses and not for the same one over and over. Her husband, unbeknownst to her, was playing pretty fast and loose with their finances. He was doing a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul type of bookkeeping. She had no idea. So when he passed a lot of his loans and questionable practices came to light. She has been getting a lot of demands for payment - some legit, some not. He owned several businesses (with different business partners in each) and shuttled money between them. For instance, he took out one loan of $500,000 to keep one of them solvent. He (they) owe the IRS hundreds of thousands in back taxes. And it goes on. It has almost ruined her financially and she keeps getting inundated with official looking letters because of it. From lawyers, creditors, and scammers. I’m a trusted co-worker so when she has questions, sometimes she asks for my help. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/12 "2025-05-08T15:34:45Z")
Sorry to hear she has all that to deal with. Thanks for explaining. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/13 "2025-05-08T16:04:49Z")
The letter she received is saying that Wells Fargo will be sending the money from a forgotten account to the unclaimed fund for the state. That’s totally normal. The executor of the estate should contact Wells Fargo directly to see what accounts he had and are still open. The executor (probably her) will be authorized to take control of any accounts in his name. There may be more WF accounts than just this one that was referenced in the letter. Have her do a web search for “state unclaimed property” in each state in which he may have had assets or property. It’s not unusual for most people to have a few matches. Typically they’re for relatively minor amounts, such as a utility company refund that was never paid out, that are often more trouble than they are worth to claim. But there may also be forgotten bank accounts with significant amounts in them. The executor will be able to claim the funds. There’s no need to pay a company to help retrieve unclaimed property. She can do it herself by submitting the required documentation to prove she’s entitled to the money. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/14 "2025-05-09T03:34:09Z")
I presume if it goes to the estate it is the obliged to be applied against the late husband’s outstanding debts? Which means it might fall into the category of “does it really matter”? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/15 "2025-05-09T13:12:05Z")
And to point out the obvious - in any such communications, don’t use the links provided in the communication (any included email, website, phone number, etc.) Always look up the correct connection online. if the name and phone number etc. on this mail match the real world, then it is likely not a scam. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/16 "2025-05-09T14:22:26Z")
The email address of unclaimedproperty (at) [wellsfargo.com](http://wellsfargo.com) definitely looks legit. But to be safe, make sure you _type_ that address into the To: part of an email. Scammers like to replace standard letters with ones from different alphabetic systems which would send the email to who-know-where. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042/17 "2025-05-09T16:52:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > But to be safe, make sure you _type_ that address into the To: part of an email. Scammers like to replace standard letters with ones from different alphabetic systems which would send the email to who-know-where. Thanks, I will pass that info along to her.