Someone Called About Surplus Funds — Is It Real or a Scam?

Why is someone calling me about money from my foreclosure?

Foreclosure files are public records. When a home is sold at a sheriff's sale or tax sale, the case file — the sale price, the amount that was owed, and whether money was left over — sits in a county database anyone can search. Recovery companies read those records every day, work out which sales produced leftover money, and call every former owner they can find. Scammers read the same records. That is why a call like this is not automatically fake — and not automatically safe.

There is also a reason you may be hearing about this money from a stranger instead of the county: official notices are usually mailed to the address on file, often the foreclosed house itself — a place you no longer live. Franklin County, Ohio only began reliably notifying former owners of "leftover money" in November 2019, after a Columbus Dispatch investigation; by then the county had recorded roughly $8 million in leftover foreclosure funds tied to about 2,700 properties since 2000, per WOSU Public Media. So the money behind these calls is often real. The caller's terms are the part you need to check.

Is the surplus funds call or letter real, or a scam?

Both kinds exist, and you cannot tell them apart by how the caller sounds — legitimate firms and con artists work from the same public lists and use nearly identical scripts. The FTC's guidance on unexpected calls about unclaimed funds lists the red flags: an official-sounding name you cannot verify, a specific dollar amount quoted to hook you, "time is running out" pressure, requests for personal or banking information, and any upfront "processing" fee.

The stakes are documented. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs reports companies charging homeowners as much as 75% of their surplus, and Washington's Attorney General shut down a firm that told homeowners recovery would be "near impossible without their help" while keeping more than half the money in some cases. Judge the caller by what they ask you to sign and what they ask you to pay — never by the pitch.

What does the caller know that they won't tell me?

A cold caller typically knows your foreclosure case number, the sale date, the sale price, roughly what you owed, and which county office is holding the difference. Every piece of that came from a public file. The predatory version of this business runs on one thing: you not knowing where to look. So flip it — ask four questions:

1. Which court or county office is holding the money?
2. What is the case number?
3. What did the property sell for, and what was owed?
4. Will you send me everything in writing before I sign anything?

How do I check for free if I'm really owed surplus funds?

You do not need the caller's permission — or their contract — to find out whether the money exists. Verifying a surplus is a public-records lookup, and in most Ohio and Georgia counties it takes one search or one phone call. Start with the county where the property was located; your name and the property address are enough even if you kept no paperwork.

1. Ohio, mortgage foreclosure: search the county Clerk of Courts online docket for your foreclosure case, or simply call the clerk. Franklin County publishes an excess funds process page and answers surplus questions at 614-525-3600 — call and ask whether your case shows excess funds. According to publicly available Ohio law (R.C. 2329.44), when the leftover amount is $500 or more the clerk must send the former owner a certified-mail notice — but those letters often go to the old address.
2. Ohio, tax foreclosure: call the county treasurer. Under the publicly available statute (R.C. 5721.20), unclaimed excess from a tax foreclosure sits in the county treasury, and the former owner has a limited window — three years — before the money is permanently forfeited. Confirm the exact dates for your case with the treasurer's office; we encourage it.
3. Georgia, tax sale: check the county tax commissioner's published excess funds list. Gwinnett, Chatham, and most metro counties post these lists online — look for your name or the property address, or call the tax commissioner's office.
4. Georgia, mortgage foreclosure: there is no government list, because Georgia mortgage foreclosures are non-judicial. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-190, the surplus is owed to you and starts out held by the law firm that conducted the sale — call the firm named on your foreclosure notices, then the superior court clerk in that county.
5. If years have passed: in Ohio, unclaimed mortgage surpluses move to county unclaimed funds — the Ohio Department of Commerce links every county's list. In Georgia, tax-sale excess funds go to the Department of Revenue five years after the sale (O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5), after which only a court order releases them.

What should I never sign after one of these calls?

Whatever you decide about getting help, certain documents should end the conversation immediately. Consumer-protection offices in multiple states flag the same short list:

• An assignment of rights. This transfers ownership of your claim to the company — once signed, the money is legally theirs to collect, and you get whatever the contract says, sometimes nothing. The NC Justice Center's rule is blunt: don't sign any document you do not fully understand.
• A quitclaim deed or anything transferring property interest. No legitimate surplus claim requires you to deed anything to anyone.
• A power of attorney that routes your money through the company. Georgia county tax offices pay excess funds directly to the owner, and Gwinnett's tax commissioner states it does not recognize power-of-attorney "representation" by asset recovery firms at all. Ohio's finder law for state-held unclaimed funds (R.C. 169.13) likewise requires payment to go straight to the owner.
• Anything tied to an upfront fee. The FTC's rule is absolute: legitimate recovery help never charges money before you are paid.
• Anything vague, blank, or "sign today." Real deadlines come from statutes, not from a salesperson's calendar.

Can I claim the money myself, without the company that called?

Yes. You can claim this yourself for free, and no honest company will pretend otherwise. In Ohio, you file a motion in your original foreclosure case asking the court to release the excess funds. Ohio Legal Help offers a free form builder that generates the motion in about ten minutes, and clerk's offices such as Franklin County's publish the form and step-by-step instructions; you may attend a short hearing, then receive a check.

In Georgia, you submit the county's excess funds claim form — usually with photo ID and a notarized affidavit — directly to the tax commissioner. Gwinnett County's official page says it plainly: "you are not required to pay, or be represented by, any third party in order to claim excess funds." The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs estimates a straightforward do-it-yourself claim often costs less than $100. If your situation is simple — you are the sole owner, you are alive and locatable, nobody else is claiming the money, and the deadline has not passed — file it yourself and keep 100% of what is yours.

When does it make sense to let a company or attorney handle it?

Some claims are genuinely simple, and you should file those yourself. Others follow a consistent pattern where professional help earns its keep:

• Someone else is claiming the money. Second mortgages, HELOCs, judgment liens, and HOA claims get paid out of the surplus before you do, and disputes turn into contested court hearings.
• The owner has died. Heirs usually need probate documents — letters of administration, proof of heirship — before any county will pay out, and multiple heirs multiply the paperwork.
• The clock has nearly run out, or already has. Georgia tax-sale funds that reach the Department of Revenue after five years can only be released through a court action, and aged Ohio funds require extra court steps.
• The county requires a hearing, and you would be presenting evidence and answering lienholders' objections on your own.

How do I report a surplus funds scam?

If a caller failed the tests above — demanded money upfront, refused to say where the funds are held, or pushed an assignment of rights — report it, even if you also plan to pursue your claim. In Ohio, file a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General; in Georgia, with the Georgia Consumer Protection Division; nationally, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reporting costs nothing, protects the next person on the same call list, and has no effect on your right to the money.

Keep reading

• State guides: Ohio surplus funds, Georgia excess funds, Florida surplus funds
• Got a Letter About Surplus Funds? How to Tell If It's Real
• Is Surplus Funds Recovery Legit? How to Tell the Real Thing From a Scam
• How Long Do I Have to Claim Surplus Funds After Foreclosure?
• Can I Claim Surplus Funds Myself, Without a Lawyer or Recovery Company?