Collect Unclaimed Money Owed To You

(Update: Many of the deals on this page are expired and therefore the links have been removed. This page is kept for reference)

When you collect unclaimed money owed to you, is it actually free? It will certainly feel like it. This is akin to finding change in the couch or a $20 bill in a winter jacket that you haven’t checked all summer, but on a much grander scale. There are millions of unclaimed dollars in state and federal tax returns, court settlements, pension retirement benefits, forgotten bank accounts, securities, dividends, royalties, bonds, utility refunds, funds for veterans, unclaimed life insurance policies, and many other resources. Some of it could be yours.

When you find the money in this case it’s opening up a resource that you didn’t have previously even though it rightfully belonged to you. One could argue that it’s not the same as getting free money since it was already yours. But if it is yours, why not claim it? One thing that makes it free is that all the resources you need to find unclaimed money are free.

Tips For Finding Unclaimed Money

Never pay for access to a database or resources. All the resources you need are free. See below.

Be careful with some websites and databases since they’re really just phishing scams. A phishing scam is when a website that looks legitimate tricks people into giving away personal information. That information is then used to access that person’s accounts and steal from them or use their account maliciously in other ways. Never give away passwords. Never give away credit card information – you don’t need a credit card for this. In many cases you will need to provide information such as name, address, phone number, social security number and names of family members. Even this information can be sensitive, so make sure the resources you’re using are legitimate. The sources listed below are generally reliable unless they’ve been labeled as “not tested”.

In most cases, you will have to be the one doing the research and reaching out to claim your unclaimed money. Most organizations that are harboring unclaimed money do not do the work of dispensing it appropriately. For some of them, it’s like having a zero-interest loan. So why would they give it up if they didn’t have to? The government will not reach out to you and no one from the government will charge you. If anyone claims to be from the government and asks you for money so that you can claim property, don’t give it to them. Read more on Government Imposter Scams From the Federal Trade Commission.

Possibly the only person that would call you, is a lawyer who is managing the estate of a family member or friend. There aren’t many other cases where someone would reach out to you. You have to reach out to them, especially since you may be hard to find if you didn’t receive the money already.

There is no central location that will help you look for all unclaimed money, you have to use multiple resources. See below. Even the ones listed below will not include all possibilities.

The US government gives the following tips for finding unclaimed money and property:

1. Search for unclaimed money and property in states where you have lived
2. Check for unclaimed funds from bank failures or unclaimed deposits from credit union closures.
3. Search for unclaimed or undelivered tax refunds for a refund from an FHA-insured mortgage.
4. Check for unclaimed back wages, pension money, or life insurance funds.

 

Resources for Finding Unclaimed Cash and Property

The Unclaimed Money Directory Lists The Following Resources for finding unclaimed money and property:

• Government Resources For Finding Unclaimed Money – These are resources provide directly by the US Government. They’re the most reliable resources and they are always free.
• Free Third Party Resources – These are resources provided by third-parties. They or may not have additional information than what is provided by the US Government. Some of them offer the service of helping you find unclaimed money. They may be completely free or they may take a percentage of claims that they help you find, but there are no up front costs.
• Third Party Unclaimed Money Watch List – These are third-party resources that have not been tested by AF.c so even if they appear to be free or legitimated, AF.c cannot vouch for them. They may or may not be able to help you find unclaimed money.
• Unclaimed Money Black List – These are resources that AF.c recommends against using. They are either charging you for information that you can get for free from the government or they are blatant phishing scams.

A few of these resources are listed below on this page for convenience and as a demonstration of what is available in the Unclaimed Money Directory.

Government Resources For Finding Unclaimed Money

USA.gov Unclaimed Money Page – Offers resources that are recommended by the US Government for finding unclaimed money and property.

Unclaimed.org – Website and database maintained by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). Other sites might claim to be part of NAUPA. They may use NAUPA’s database but they’re not officially affiliated.

MissingMoney.com – This offers a multi-State search for US States that participate. Individual state resources are also listed below.

Worker’s Owed Wages – Use this link from the United States Department of Labor to find unpaid wages.

Employee Benefits Security Administration – This is also from the US Department of Labor. There is no direct search at this link but this agency can help you find unclaimed retirement benefits.

VA Life Insurance – Use this link from the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs to find unclaimed life insurance funds for families of veterans.

Unclaimed Pensions – Use this link from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (a US Government agency) to find unclaimed pensions.

Does The IRS Have Money Waiting For You? – This link offers advice directly from the IRS for collecting unclaimed tax refunds, although there is a notice that says parts of it might be outdated. Laws on taxes can change, just like any other law. See also Where’s My Refund?

FDIC Closed Banks Search – This search will let you find unclaimed money from banks that have closed down. They generally had to be insured by the FDIC to be in this database.

Closed Credit Unions Search – This search by the National Credit Union Administration will help you find unclaimed money from closed credit unions.

Funds From SEC Claims – The Security & Exchange Commission lists cases where companies owe investors money.

Damaged Money – The US Treasury Department will exchanged for damaged US currency.

Does HUD Owe You A Refund? – The US Department of Housing and Urban development may owe you money if you had an FHA-insured mortgage.

US Savings Bonds No Longer Earning Interest – If your US Savings Bonds are no longer earning interest, then redeem them for cash. There is no reason to let the government keep an interest-free loan.

Foreign Claims – If you have unclaimed property in foreign countries it will sometimes be turned over to the US Government. Search for it at this link.

State Government Resources For Unclaimed Funds

More resources will be added to the Unclaimed Money Directory as they are discovered.

Third-Party Resources For Finding Unclaimed Money

Resources will only be listed here if they are free. Some may be completely free. Some of them may offer the service of helping you find unclaimed money and will take a percentage of the claim, but there is no up front cost.

LostMoney.com – This website is maintained by Wayne Warrington, consumer advocate. AF.c has had direct contact with him and he seems to be a decent and honest human being. He has promised consumers that he will never sell personal information to third parties and he has kept that promise. His website appears like it needs to be updated, but it is still in operation.

More resources will be added to the Unclaimed Money Directory as they are discovered.

Unclaimed Money Watch List

Credit Karma Unclaimed Money (https://www.creditkarma.com/unclaimed-money) – This is on the watch list because we’re not certain it gives users any value. It appears they simply link people to the state links that are provided by MissingMoney.com (same as State links above). They aren’t doing anything wrong, there’s just no perceived added value.

Unclaimed Money Black List

From what AF.c can tell, these are independent resources that are charging people to find information that they can get for free from the government, or they are blatant phishing scams. The only reason to pay for a resource is if it’s not already provided for free, such as information from private entities. Government information is open to the public. The resources below will say they’re private because they’re not affiliated with the US government, but if all the information that they aggregate is from the government then there’s no reason to pay the middle man. If individuals from the following organizations would like to be removed from the black list then they’ll have to demonstrate that they have information from private non-government entities.

neverclaimed.com – When chatting with a support rep, they said that all the information comes from private resources but that all the forms to claim money will be government forms. They’re providing government resources, which are free. They don’t have information from private entities.

unclaimedmoney.com – They are clearly charging money for unclaimed money searches with information from government resources.

More will be added to the Unclaimed Money Directory as they are discovered.

Do you know of resources the should be added to this page or unclaimed money resources that people should avoid? Please let us know.