I have a question regarding the following service:
http://homeincomemarket.com/UBAinfo.htm

I am assuming IT IS NOT A SCAM. However despite all the relevant
information the Website appears to give , I am at a total loss to
understand how this system works. Although DMG Marketing claim in the
Website to be in no way connected to the Bank Of Canada , they say
that by using their process , One can get 15% to 25% conmmission by
following a set of instructions which enable the true owner of the
bank Account to get their money back (minus the commission I assume)
So if I were to use this how exactly would it work
- Would I have to do the research to find the original owners of the account?
- Why would the original owners of the account have to pay me or  DMG
Marketing anything?  (Bank of Canada website says that the original
owners can reclaim the money free of charge)
- Or perhaps I would just be processing the claim on behalf of the
Bank account original owner? (and they have ageed to pay the
commission)

I would be delighted if anyone could enlighten me on this.

Many Thanks 
Mongolia

The site is less than clear.  My take on it, based on my research on
the Bank of Canada website and after reading the link you provided and
listening to the interview, is that they will sell you a list of
unclaimed bank accounts that you can get for free from any Canadian
public library or as a complete list on CD-ROM for $75 from the Bank
of Canada and some kind of methodology to follow to find people.  I
suspect that any commissions, if any, you receive will be only if you
can negotiate an agreement and collect from someone whose bank account
you have located for them.

So, in answer to your questions, I think you would have to do the
research to find the account owners, and there is no obligation for
the account owners to pay you anything unless you can get them to sign
a legal agreement in exchange for the information and you are willing
to pursue them if they do not pay.  This activity appears to be legal
based on the next to last reference, but it is far from certain you
would get anything of value from DMG Marketing based on the last
reference.

"To help find the owners:   

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)
publishes all unclaimed balances of $100 or more in the year prior to
their potential transfer to the Bank of Canada (i.e., in the 9th year
of inactivity). This is published in the Canada Gazette available at
all public libraries.

The Bank of Canada makes information available to the public without charge:  

   on this Internet site (excluding balances below $2.00)   
   by mail:            Bank of Canada, Unclaimed Balances Services,  
                            234 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G9   
   by fax:              (613) 782-7802  

A request for a search must include the full name of the individual,
the addresses of his/her past residences, and the year of death if the
individual is deceased.

The full list of unclaimed balances may also be purchased on a CDROM
(data only) for $72 plus GST and PST plus $3 for shipping. Send your
request and money order or certified cheque to the Bank of Canada at
the above address."

"Unclaimed Balances" Bank of Canada
http://ucbswww.bank-banque-canada.ca/faq_english.htm

"What if I am approached by a person who agrees to give me information
about an inheritance in exchange for a percentage of the estate? There
are individuals ? sometimes referred to as 'heir tracers' ? who, as a
business endeavour, track down people who are not aware of their
entitlement to an inheritance. Heir tracers often require a very
substantial 'finder?s fee' before giving a person the information they
need to access the inheritance"

"Estates Administration" Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/pgt/estatesadmin.pdf

One person's perspective who claims to have seen the materials offered
by DMG Marketing:

"I'd responded to a newspaper ad looking for people to process
unclaimed bank accounts. I was able to request the free introductory
info by calling a toll-free number and speaking to a recorder. My info
arrived today. For a $33 fee plus shipping and GST I could order my
start-up materials.

Upon reading the post that gave the website for DMG Marketing
<http://www.homeincomemarket.com/>, I opened the site, then clicked
"UBA processers members log in here". For my username and password, I
entered a random name and password as anything will work; when the
pop-up says it's invalid, just hit okay and it will take you to what
appears to be the start-up materials they would send you only if you
paid your fee! Reading their "how to" manual, has convinced me that
I'm glad I didn't waste my money finding out "how to" process the
unclaimed bank accounts. I haven't studied the manual carefully enough
to know whether one could do this work legitimately.... perhaps one
could, but who would want to? I don't think it's for me, and I just
saved $38.52!"

"NEED HELP" by Jannet, MyMommyBiz (November 26, 2004)
http://www.mymommybizboards.com/viewtopic.php?p=63137

Sincerely,

Wonko

---

Request for Answer Clarification by mongolia-ga on 02 Jun 2005 12:52 PDT

Wonko

As you have mentioned in your first sentence "The site is less than clear"
So unfortunately is your overall answer.

Myoarin has pointed out the very obvious flaw in the system i.e. when
i have tracked down and contacted an account holder why should he/she
pay anything to me as all they have to do is to go into the Bank of
Canada web site, go to the search unclaimed accounts link and then key
in their name and up will come the Bank and address where their
account resides.

Where I need much more clarity is:

1. Am I fully responcible for tracking down where the account holder resides or
   is this something DMG Marketing does or is it a shared responsibility?

 2. Regarding the "training Package" that DMG Marketing sends, when I would  
    receive it, is it then up to me and me alone to track down potential  
    account holders? or is it the case I would work with DMG Marketing to  
    complete the process?
 
 3. Assuming that the answer to 2 is that the training packages tells me how 
    to do the whole process and it is up to  me to follow through on it again 
    before purchasing the package I would need to have a clear idea how I will 
    get my commission. Is this something you can clarify?
 
I did find your reference to the person who managed to access the
training materials as interesting. (BTW I was not able to access the
materials from your intructions. When I hit the OK button it simply
returned me to the sign on screen) The person however ends up by
saying:
 > I haven't studied the manual carefully enough to know whether one could   
 > do this work legitimately....
It looks like the individual give up on the instructions which is not
telling me much.
I am therefore as unclear as every as to whether this is scam or a legitimate
service.
Mongolia

PS MYOARIN Thanks for your comment.
Mongolia

---

Clarification of Answer by wonko-ga on 02 Jun 2005 22:33 PDT

I think myoarin-ga is right on with his take on things.  While this
isn't precisely a scam because you could in theory create a business
doing this, I think the website is deliberately unclear and
potentially deceptive regarding what you would be doing and how you
would get paid.  There is no obvious reason to pay them for their
materials.  You could just start doing it.

Here are my answers to your questions based on my impression of their
website and other "business opportunities" like this one I have come
across:

1. Am I fully responcible for tracking down where the account holder resides or
   is this something DMG Marketing does or is it a shared
responsibility?  I think you would have all responsibility.  DMG
Marketing is at best sending you materials suggesting how you go about
doing that and a list of unclaimed accounts they have obtained from
somewhere.  I question whether these materials are worth anything,
particularly since you can get a list of dormant bank accounts for
free from any Canadian library.

 2. Regarding the "training Package" that DMG Marketing sends, when I would  
    receive it, is it then up to me and me alone to track down potential  
    account holders? or is it the case I would work with DMG Marketing to  
    complete the process?  I believe you are the only one doing any
tracking of potential account holders.
 
 3. Assuming that the answer to 2 is that the training packages tells me how 
    to do the whole process and it is up to  me to follow through on it again 
    before purchasing the package I would need to have a clear idea how I will 
    get my commission. Is this something you can clarify?  You would
have to negotiate with each potential account holder you located for
your commission and get them to pay it.  As the commenter points out,
you may experience considerable difficulty in accomplishing this
unless you are extremely vague about what the unclaimed property is.

Sincerely,

Wonko

Wonko
Thanks for your clarification. I think you have gone as far as you can
go on this one. It would appear that this company makes money on the
CD training packages they send people claiming that the recipients can
make money
"processing" unclaimed bank accounts. I do not want to waste my time or $38 
doing this so I will call MR Derek Meikle and ask him a few
penetrating questions about his organisation. When one orders the
package by phone ,he is the one who answers (so far by leaving a voice
message) Hopefully I will get some straight answers from him (he
appears to be the one running this show)

Many Thanks

Mongolia

If Wonko-ga is right (as I believe), that once you have traced a
person, you would have to get him to sign a contract for your
commission, I see a real difficulty:
You are trying to sell him information that is available to the public
at no cost.  By contacting him, you will reveal that an unclaimed
account exists,  If the person is at all savvy, he can quickly find
out that he can find the information himself.  A web search for
"unclaimed bank accounts" immediately leads him to the Bank of Canada
site and others.
When you call him again, he may be polite, since you have done him a
big favor, or he may laugh at you and hang up.

And like so many other money-making schemes, if it was anywhere near
as easy to search and find people  - and to get them to pay -  the
people behind that website wouldn't be selling start-up material; 
THEY would be doing it themselves.

That does make it sound like a SCAM, doesn't it?

Myoarin

Mongolia,
Something else occurred to me concerning that wonderful pool of C$ 200
million unclaimed funds that the site dangles like a carrot.

This is an excerpt from another site on the subject:

"Unclaimed Balances Held by the Bank of Canada

Unclaimed balances held by the Bank of Canada are Canadian dollar
deposits in Canadian banks at locations in Canada and negotiable
instruments issued by Canadian banks at locations in Canada. This
includes bank drafts, certified cheques, money orders and travellers
cheques.

Length of Time Bank Balances are Held

The Bank of Canada holds unclaimed bank balances of $500 or more
indefinitely. Unclaimed balances under $500 are kept for 20 years from
the date of the last transaction - 10 years at the original bank, and
another 10 at the Bank of Canada."

I wonder what proportion of the 200 million consists of items of less 
than $ 500?
It would be very interesting to have breakdown of the list of items by
amounts and age = date of last activity on the accounts.  Perhaps with
the CD list one could resort it different ways.

Obviously, it won't be interesting trying to trace owners of smaller
amounts, or very old dormant deposits.  One must assume that the list
has been combed by many people already who concentrated on the "good
stuff".  But it is still there, and as mentioned before, the guys "who
wrote the book" and other "professionals" have no doubt already done
their best without success, including  people searching much closer to
the time the account became dormant:  people working for heirs, for
example.
The link in Wonko-ga's answer under "Estates Administration" Office
explains that this office of the Ontario government does just that,
contacting banks of deceased persons to identify assets, and then
tries to identify heirs.  If that office was unsuccessful within a
year or two of the person's death, I don't expect that a later "heir
tracer" would have much success.

If "you are extremely vague about what the unclaimed property is", you
will make a very dubious impression, appearing to be working something
akin to the "Nigerian 419 scheme".



Myoarin

Hi, the father company of DMG Marketing is Seirra Marketing.  I sent
for information, then came on here to find out more about the company.
 I checked with the better business bureau in Winnipeg, there have
been a two complaints.  Here is what they said:
Nature of Business This company indicates that they are involved in
"Direct Response Marketing".
Customer Experience 
Our file experience shows that this company has an unsatisfactory
record with the Bureau. Specifically our records show two or more
unresolved complaints concerning the company's refund policy.
The DMG Marketing name was registered on January 23, 2004. The
addresses listed are simply a mail drop addresses. The Portage Avenue
address has had numerous work-at-home companies working out of it in
the past. This would appear to be what is termed as a work-at-home
scheme.
We note that, while the company states they "offer a 45 day money back
guarantee on the UBA booklet if it is in resalable condition", our
experience shows that, if the booklet is emailed, the company does not
offer a refund.
The company's size, volume of business and number of transactions may
have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the Better
Business Bureau. The complaints filed against a company may not be as
important as the type of complaints, and how the company handled them.
The Better Business Bureau generally does not pass judgement on the
validity of complaints filed.

Additional Business Names
 DMG Marketing 
Additional Addresses
 PMB 66020, RPO Unicity 
 Winnipeg, MB R3K 2E7 
Additional Phone Numbers
 (204)792-9055 
Company Management
Key management personnel include:
 Alieta Meikle 
 Kerrington Sierra 
 Dwayne Meikle 
Educational/General Comments WORK AT HOME SCHEMES 
 THE TYPICAL PATTERN OF THE WORK AT HOME SCHEME IS THAT THE CONSUMER
RECEIVES INFORMATION BY WAY OF A CLASSIFIED AD IN THE NEWSPAPER, A
FLYER THROUGH THE MAIL, AN UNSOLICITED EMAIL OR AN INTERNET SEARCH.
THESE OFFER HUGE EARNINGS WITH NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY BY WORKING OUT
OF YOUR HOME. TRADITIONALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN TWO TYPES OF WORK AT HOME
SCHEMES - STUFFING ENVELOPES AND ASSEMBLING PRODUCTS. MOST RECENTLY,
THERE HAS BEEN A PROLIFERATION OF WORK AT HOME COMPANIES ADVERTISING
FOR UNCLAIMED BANK ACCOUNTS TRACERS, WORKSHEET PROCESSORS, GROCERY
COUPON PROCESSORS AND LABEL ADDRESSORS. THERE ALSO EXIST DIRECTORIES
WHERE THE CONSUMER MAY PURCHASE A LIST OF COMPANIES OFFERING SUCH
SCHEMES. ALL WORK AT HOME SCHEMES HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON - THEY ALL
REQUIRE AN UP FRONT FEE. CONSUMERS SHOULD BE REALISTIC WHEN
CONSIDERING THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUCH AN OFFER AND ASK THEMSELVES; "HAVE
YOU EVER HAD TO PAY MONEY TO A COMPANY IN THE PAST TO RECEIVE
EMPLOYMENT?" WITH THE STUFFING OF ENVELOPES, BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
EXPERIENCE HAS REVEALED THAT, AFTER RESPONDING TO A STUFFING ENVELOPE
SCHEME, THE CONSUMER USUALLY EITHER RECEIVES NO REPLY OR INFORMATION
INSTRUCTING THEM TO PLACE AN AD SIMILAR TO THE ONE THEY HAD RESPONDED
TO. THE RESPONDENT EARNS THEIR MONEY BY REQUESTING OTHERS TO SEND THEM
MONEY FOR INFORMATION, AS THEY HAD INITIALLY DONE. KEEP IN MIND, THAT
RECRUITING OTHERS TO SEND MONEY FOR NO EXCHANGE OF A VIABLE PRODUCT OR
SERVICE IS KNOWN AS A PYRAMID SCHEME. PYRAMID SCHEMES ARE A DIRECT
VIOLATION OF THE COMPETITION ACT AND ARE GENERALLY DEEMED TO BE
ILLEGAL. SCHEMES FOR ASSEMBLING PRODUCTS AT HOME ALSO REQUIRE THE
APPLICANT TO SEND AN UP FRONT FEE TO PURCHASE MATERIALS. IN THE END,
THE COMPANY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT THE ITEMS DUE TO POOR
WORKMANSHIP, THEREFORE, THE CONSUMER MAY END UP KEEPING THE PRODUCTS.
OTHER WORK AT HOME SCHEMES INDICATE THAT THE COMPANY WILL PAY YOU FOR
FILLING OUT THEIR SIMPLE WORKSHEETS, PROCESSING THEIR PRODUCTS,
SEARCHING FOR BANK ACCOUNTS OR ADDRESSING LABELS. EXPERIENCE HAS
REVEALED THAT, IF THE CONSUMER RECIEVES THE PACKAGE, IT IS USUALLY NOT
AS EXPECTED. FURTHERMORE, WHEN THE TIME COMES FOR THE COMPANY TO PAY
THE CONSUMER FOR THEIR WORK OR REFUND THE ADVANCED FEE, THE PAYMENT IS
USUALLY NOT FORTHCOMING. THUS, THE COMPANY IS THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES
ANY MONEY. ULTIMATELY, CONSUMERS SHOULD EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN
SENDING MONEY IN ADVANCE OR WHEN DISCLOSING PERSONAL INFORMATION TO AN
UNKNOWN SOURCE. WHEN SEARCHING THROUGH THE CLASSIFIED SECTION FOR
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, BE SUSPICIOUS WHEN AN AD OFFERS UNREALISTIC
EARNINGS WITH NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. IF YOU ANSWER AN AD OFFERING
YOU HUGE PROFITS FOR SOME AT-HOME WORK PLAN FOR WHICH THERE IS
SUPPOSEDLY A GREAT DEMAND AND WHICH WILL REQUIRE NO EXPERIENCE ON YOUR
PART, YOU WILL PROBABLY WIND UP LOSING MONEY INSTEAD OF EARNING IT. IF
IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT USUALLY IS.


I hope this shines some light on the company,
Cheers!
Tundragal

tundragal
Many thanks for your update. You have now fully confirmed to me that
this company (dmg maketing) operates a number of scams and deceptions
for which they probably make quite a lot of money. I contacted the
company to find out more about what exactly was involved in
"processing unclaimed Canadian accounts". The answer I got was to buy
the "USB processing Manual" (which cost
$38 plus tax)which would explain everything. After this I got a vey
heavy sell to buy the processing manual for their full range of "Home
Marketing Schemes" (costing $300) At this point I insisted I wanted
only the information concerning the unprocessed Canadian Accounts.
The booklet I received was the ultimate insult to one's intelligence.A
better booklet could have been written by a 10 year old. It did not
even contain page numbers.

It was basically a 20 page leaflet of which the first few pages described
their full range of "home Marketing Schemes"
The rest of the booklet then described how you could go about processing
unclaimed bank accounts. In essence it descrbed ways you could link an
individual to an unclaimed bank account. It then instructed you to
call the individual explain to him/her that they had money in an
unclained bank account
and for a fee you would retrieve the money for them. The booklet
suggested that the fee should be 15% to 25% of the total amount in the
bank account but
"not to get too greedy". The booklet also explained that you may only get 4 or
5 accounts per week but this should give you an ok income!!! 

Thanks to yourself (and Wonko and Myoarin) I can say to anyone to
avoid this company like the plague.

Many Thanks
Mongolia

First let me say that I am VERY glad to have found this question and
all of you who have done the research to uncover this scam.

I wanted to add that I have just received my first package for UBA
Processing work, requesting the $38.  The ONLY difference is that this
company is apparently now running under the name TML Marketing.  Same
address & Derek Meikle is still the name on the cover letter.  The
phone number is different.

Thanks again for the info.