Treasurer Zweifel Warns of Phishing Scam

Treasurer reminds Missourians they should never pay for Unclaimed Property

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel’s office learned yesterday of a phishing scam where a person or group was posing as an assistant to the State Treasurer, and was attempting to obtain personal information in the form of a fraudulent e-mail concerning unclaimed property. The e-mail indicated the recipient may have unclaimed property and then asked for personal information.

"Missourians should know that no unsolicited e-mails from my office regarding unclaimed property are ever sent out, and that my office never charges to return unclaimed property," Treasurer Zweifel said. "Additionally, the Office of Administration has confirmed that no personal data my office maintains has been compromised."

Treasurer Zweifel said his office worked closely with the Office of Administration to notify the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Multi State Information Sharing and Analysis Center about the scam. His office also worked to notify the Federal Trade Commission and others about the scam so the phishing e-mails would begin to be reject automatically by e-mail providers. An alert has been posted on ShowMeMoney.com, and anyone with questions or concerns regarding Missouri unclaimed property should not hesitate to call Treasurer Zweifel’s office at (573) 751-0123 or visit his official Web site at www.treasurer.mo.gov.

"My office will continue to investigate the situation and will work with the proper authorities," Treasurer Zweifel said. "We know our system is secure and protecting the private data it holds, but we want Missourians to be aware these scams are out there. If they receive a suspicious e-mail, they can call my office directly to ensure they are talking to us."

Citizens can learn more about phishing scams and how to protect themselves by visiting the state’s cyber security site, Microsoft’s online safety site and the Federal Trade Commission’s site. Suspected phishing scams may also be reported to one of the following sites: www.antiphishing.org, www.us-cert.gov and www.ftc.gov/spam.

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