Scam from Golden Living (formerly Beverly Enterprises)?

Please note the comments on this post. I may very well have been wrong on this one.

Today, I received a letter from “Golden Living (formerly Beverly Enterprises).” This company runs nursing homes and assisted living facilities. I twas originally sent to a “Mary Newhall” near me (and I’m from a small family with no nearby relatives named “Newhall”), but was redirected to me. It reads:

DEAR FRIEND:

OUR RECORDS INDICATE THAT YOU ARE THE OWNER OF THE FUNDS

REPRESENTED BY THE ITEM LISTED BELOW. NO TRANSACTION OR

ACTIVITY HAS BEEN NOTED FOR A SIGNIFICANT TIME. IF YOU

HAVE AN INTEREST IN THESE FUNDS AND WISH TO PREVENT SUCH

FUNDS FROM BEING REPORTED TO THE STATE, PLEASE COMPLETE

THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES:

• PROVIDE YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER AND

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

• OR TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER IF YOU ARE A BUSINESS
• SIGN AND RETURN THIS INFORMATION PROMPTLY TO THE

ADDRESS BELOW FOR PAYMENT

• IF PERSON RETURNING FORM IS NOT THE ADDRESSEE, PLEASE

ENCLOSE A COPY OF THE WILL OR POWER OF ATTORNEY TO

SHOW THAT THESE FUNDS ARE RIGHTFULLY YOURS.

GOLDEN LIVING (FORMERLY BEVERLY ENTERPRISES)

1000 FIANNA WAY

FORT SMITH, AR 72919–4118

ATTN: T. J. STIGA

This is followed by fill-in fields for signature, SSN/tax ID, address, and phone number. Certainly smells like a scam.

What’s interesting is that the company itself is certainly legitimate, and the included address is indeed the registered address of the business’s headquarters (according to Forbes). It looks like one of its employees is running a scam through their headquarters.

The letter includes no other contact information (e.g., phone number) for this “T.J. Stiga,” which certainly arouses my suspicions, besides the fact that disbursing funds like this should involve much more rigorous procedures than just sending a letter saying “give us your SSN and we’ll send you money from this person’s account.”

What’s even more interesting is that a quick Google search reveals a T.J. Stiga living at 2100 S V St, Fort Smith, AR, with a home phone number of 479-782-8576, as well as a Facebook page. I’m tempted to call him up.

Anyway, if you see a letter like this from “Golden Living,” beware.