The letter offering to recover your money for a cut of it

A letter arrives. A firm has located money in your name and will recover it for a percentage. Often the letter is telling the truth about the money — which is what makes it persuasive.

What it usually leaves out is where the firm got your name. State unclaimed property lists are public. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service describes locator services acquiring federal check issuance data from the Fiscal Service itself and using those identifiers to find prospective beneficiaries. They are reading lists you can read.

Most states cap what they can charge

Vermont limits the fee to 10 percent of the total property value, and requires the agreement to be in writing, to define the property and the services, and to state the value before and after the fee is deducted. Ten percent is a common cap, but it is not universal — limits, and the rules for when they apply, vary state to state.

Vermont also notes that claim payments are sent directly to the owner rather than to the locator. You receive the money and then pay the finder under the contract you signed, which is worth understanding before you sign one.

What the treasurers themselves say

Vermont's guidance puts it about as directly as a state office can: you can always search and obtain funds yourself. The state database is free, the claim is free, and the finder is an optional convenience rather than a step in the process.

Before signing anything, search the state's own database for the property first. Vermont suggests checking with the Better Business Bureau or the state attorney general's consumer assistance program before entering an agreement.

Where a finder ends and a scam begins

A legitimate finder is paid out of money you actually receive, after you receive it. The fee comes out the back end and the contract says so in writing.

Anyone asking for money up front, for your full Social Security number before any claim exists, or for payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app is not operating that way. The FTC's rule is worth borrowing whole: never pay someone who insists you can only pay by those methods.