(Part 1 of 2)

Most people know Tennessee for its country music and world famous BBQ, but the state is also home to one lesser-known treasure – unclaimed property. In fact the TN Treasury Dept. adds tens of millions of dollars in Tennessee Unclaimed Money to its total annually, and just a fraction of it is ever given back to the rightful owners. In turn, this pile of cash gets bigger and bigger annually.

The TN Treasury Dept. %took in% roughly 40 million dollars in unclaimed property in 2006 alone, and only returned $20 million to the actual owners. That means that another $20 million was added to the already swollen pile of money that continues to be unclaimed. This trend of giving back only a fraction of what the state gets every year is consistent across the country because of a lack of awareness about these funds. The truth is, most citizens are simply unaware of the tens of billions out there waiting to be found.

(to be continued)

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Target 11: Local schools receive unclaimed cash
As Pennsylvania schools deal with cuts to school funding, the state is returning unclaimed money to many school districts. Target 11 uncovered that several schools in Allegheny County are set to receive $89,000. "We found almost $13,000 from some old accounts from some credit balances from Verizon and from Sprint," said Pam Capretta, director of finance for Pittsburgh Public Schools. "I guess we …

Missouri City working to refund forgotten
The “Show Me City” has hundreds of dollars in

Missouri City works to refund unclaimed funds
Missouri City has hundreds of dollars in unclaimed money and wants to help reunite some citizens and companies with their forgotten funds.

Unclaimed Idaho Lottery prizes really add up
BOISE — With the recent $650 million Mega Millions jackpot a lot of us started dreaming about what we'd do with all that money.  But every year in Idaho some people just need to wake up to realize that they are winners.  For whatever reason, they never claim their prizes.  That unclaimed money really adds up.  "Over the last two years we've had about $6 million go unclaimed from lottery tickets …

(Part 2 of 2)

People tend to search the wrong unclaimed money websites because they are under the impression that any website that allows them to type their name in to a search box will do. This could not be more wrong. For starters, there are very few websites that actually have the official state listings, and even those are generally inaccurate because they are not updated often enough. There are dozens of types of unclaimed property, but according to the State Treasury office, TN's most common are checks, gift certificates, refunds, stock certificates, bank accounts, unclaimed wages. Each type has a unique "dormancy period", which is the time that must pass before the holder is forced to hand the assets over to the state to be held for the owners. Because of this, a search may not show any claims due to the fact that the fund won't be turned over until the next month or year, or even for a number of years. This is why people should search often to be sure they've exhausted all avenues.

On top of the issues mentioned above, beginners will run in to a lot of hurdles that will frustrate them in their searches. The only real way for TN residents to know that they are performing complete searches is to educate themselves before they begin their search. The best way to do this is to mimic what others are doing. Why make the usual beginner's mistakes when you can learn from expert searchers and duplicate their techniques?

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Local residents make dash for their own cash
Cash Dash is a database from the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office that lists

Unclaimed money to help fund legal services
New rules announced Friday by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania clear the way for money left over from class-action lawsuits to help provide legal services for low-income Pennsylvanians.  

For whatever reason, they never claim their prizes. That

(Part 1 of 2)

Most people know Tennessee is famous for its country music and world famous BBQ, but the state is also home to one lesser-known treasure – unclaimed property. In fact the TN Treasury Dept. adds tens of millions of dollars in Tennessee Unclaimed Money to its rolls annually, and just a fraction of it is ever given back to the rightful owners. In turn, this heap of cash gets larger and larger annually.

The TN Treasury Dept. %took in% approximately 40 million dollars in unclaimed property in 2006 alone, and was only able to return $20 million to the actual owners. That means that another $20 million was added to the already swollen pile of money that remains unclaimed. This trend of returning just a fraction of what the state takes in is consistent across the country because of a lack of education about these funds. The fact is, most citizens are simply not aware of the tens of billions out there waiting to be discovered.

States do things like annually publishing names in local newspapers of the residents who are owed money and setting up tables at local fairs to help awareness, but the word still just reaches a small fraction of the people. Even among those who are aware of the potential to find these missing money, very few have a clue where to start their search. A lot of people fall in to the trap of thinking that any old abandoned assets website will do, while others do not understand that they need to search more than once. There are a lot of issues that searchers just starting out run in to, but those are some of the most common.

(to be continued)

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Watchdog Report: Does New York owe you
The state has $11 billion in

Find Out How To Search for

You've probably experienced it, and if you haven't, you're missing out on one of life's minor pleasures: unexpectedly finding a $20 bill in the pocket of an article of clothing you haven't worn since last year. On a larger scale, people get …

Daily Deals: The Very Real Risks From
Bluntly: when daily deals expire, who gets to keep the

(Part 2 of 2)

States do things like publishing names annually in local newspapers of the residents who are owed property and setting up tables at local fairs to promote awareness, but the word still just reaches a tiny fraction of the people. Even among the few who are in the know about the potential to find these missing money, only a few know where to start their search. A lot of people fall in to the trap of thinking that any old forgotten funds web site will do, while others don't understand that they need to search more than one time. There are a lot of issues that searchers just starting out run in to, but those are the most common.

People often search the wrong lost money web sites because they are under the impression that any web site that lets them put their name in to a search box will do. This could not be more wrong. To start with, there are very few web sites that actually use the true state listings, and even those are generally not accurate because they aren't updated in real time. There are many types of unclaimed funds, but according to the State Treasurer's office, Tennessee's most common are checks, gift certificates, refunds, stock certificates, bank accounts, unclaimed wages. Each type has a unique "dormancy period", which is the time that mus go by before the holder is forced to hand the monies over to the state to hold for the owners. Because of this, a search might not return any claims due to the fact that the fund won't be handed over until the following month or year, or even for a number of years. This is why people must search regularly to be certain they've exhausted all avenues.

In addition to the issues noted above, beginners will run in to a lot of stumbling blocks that will annoy them in their searches. The only real way for Tennessee residents to be sure that they are performing complete searches is to educate themselves before they get started. The best way to do this is to copy how others are doing it. Why go the trial and error route when you can learn from experienced searchers and duplicate their techniques?

–

Unclaimed money is piling up
In a country where deficits and poverty are rampant, unclaimed money is an irony — but a huge reality. Be it un-banked cheques, deposits with banks, finance companies and post-offices, or investment in tax saving schemes and life insurance policies, the unclaimed sums can be significant.

Thousands in loose change left at D/FW Airport, Love Field security stations
That’s part of more than $409,000 in

You've probably experienced it, and if you haven't, you're missing out on one of life's minor pleasures: unexpectedly finding a $20 bill in the pocket of an article of clothing you haven't worn since last year. On a larger scale, people get …

(Part 1 of 2)

Most people know Tennessee for its country music and world famous BBQ, but the state is also home to a lesser-known treasure – unclaimed funds. In fact the Tennessee Treasury Department adds tens of millions of dollars in Tennessee Unclaimed Money to its total every year, and only a fraction of it is ever given back to the rightful owners. In turn, this heap of cash gets larger and larger every year.

The Tennessee Treasury Department %took in% roughly $40 million in unclaimed funds in 2006 alone, and only returned $20 million to the rightful owners. That means that another $20 million was thrown on top of the already swollen heap of cash that continues to be unclaimed. This trend of giving back just a small portion of what the state takes in is consistent across the nation because of a lack of education about these assets. The truth is, most citizens are just unaware of the tens of billions out there waiting to be discovered.

(to be continued)

–

Unclaimed money totals $2 billion
One out of 10 Massachusetts residents has some money that they haven't claimed in years.

TSA cashes in on change left at checkpoints
The

Nevada has unclaimed money for Harry Reid, Brian Sandoval, Steve Wynn, billonaire Sheldon Adelson
Yo! Gov. Brian Sandoval! The state of Nevada is looking for you — and thousands of others with money and precious treasurers being held by the state's Unclaimed Property Division.

(Part 2 of 2)

People tend to search the wrong lost money websites because they are under the impression that any site that allows them to type their name in to a search box will do. This couldn't be more wrong. To start with, there are only a few websites that actually have the real state records, and even those are notoriously not accurate because they aren't updated often enough. There are many types of unclaimed funds, but according to the State Treasury office, TN's most common are checks, gift certificates, refunds, stock certificates, bank accounts, unclaimed wages. Each type has its own "dormancy period", which is the amount of time that mus go by before the holder has to hand the assets over to the state to hold for the owners. Because of this, a search might not show any claims due to the fact that the fund will not be turned over until the next month or year, or even for a number of years. This is why people must search frequently to be certain they've exhausted all potential sources.

In addition to the issues mentioned above, beginners will run in to quite a number of stumbling blocks that will frustrate them in their searches. The only real way for TN residents to be certain that they are performing thorough searches is to educate themselves before they get started. The best way to do this is to mimic what others are doing. Why go the trial and error route when you can learn from expert searchers and duplicate their techniques?

–

TSA cashing in: Absentminded travelers leave more than $400K in loose change behind at airports
The

Watchdog Report: Does New York owe you
The state has $11 billion in

Volunteers help identify unclaimed money in Scott County
The State Treasurer was in Scott County today to help locate people who have unclaimed money in their name and may not know it.

Loose change: $1M cost for $400K donation
Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) that seeks to take about $400,000 annually in

(Part 1 of 2)

Most people know Tennessee is famous for its country music and world famous BBQ, but the state is also home to one lesser-known treasure – unclaimed funds. In fact the TN Treasury Department adds tens of millions of dollars in Tennessee Unclaimed Money to its total annually, and only a fraction of it ever gets given back to the rightful owners. In turn, this pile of cash gets bigger and bigger annually.

The TN Treasury Department %took in% approximately 40 million dollars in unclaimed funds in 2006 alone, and was only able to return $20 million to the rightful owners. That means that another $20 million was thrown on top of the already swollen pile of cash that remains unclaimed. This trend of giving back only a fraction of what the state takes in is consistent across the nation because of a lack of awareness about these monies. The fact is, the majority of citizens are simply unaware of the tens of billions out there waiting to be found.

States do things like publishing names every year in local newspapers of the residents who are owed cash and setting up tables at local fairs to promote awareness, but the word still just reaches a tiny fraction of the people. Even among the handful who are aware of the potential to locate these lost assets, only a few have a clue where to start their search. Many fall in to the trap of believing that any old forgotten funds site will do, while others do not realize that they need to search more than one time. There are quite a number of issues that uninformed searchers run in to, but those are some of the most common.

(to be continued)

–

Unclaimed money totals $2 billion
One out of 10 Massachusetts residents has some money that they haven't claimed in years.

Bipartisan Bill to Spend
According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), airline passengers have left behind roughly $400,000 in

Thousands of families get
Syracuse, N.Y. — Some 7,525 New Yorkers are finding out they really did inherit

TSA collects $409,000 in change lost during security screenings
"In 2005, Congress gave TSA the authority to expend

(Part 2 of 2)

States do things like publishing names every year in local newspapers of the residents who are owed cash and setting up tables at county fairs to help awareness, but the word still only reaches a small fraction of the population. Even among those who are aware of the potential to track down these lost assets, only a few have a clue where to begin their search. A lot of people fall in to the trap of believing that any old forgotten funds web site will do, while others do not realize that they need to search multiple times. There are a lot of issues that uninformed searchers run in to, but those are the most common.

People tend to search the wrong unclaimed money web sites because they're under the impression that any web site that allows them to put their name in to a search box will do. This could not be more wrong. For starters, there are only a few web sites that actually have the real state records, and even those are generally inaccurate because they aren't updated often enough. There are many types of unclaimed property, but according to the State Treasurer's office, TN's most common are bank accounts, stock certificates, checks, unclaimed wages, refunds, gift certificates. Each type has its own "dormancy period", which is the time that mus go by before the holder has to hand the monies over to the state to be held for the owners. Because of this, a search may not return any claims due to the fact that the fund won't be handed over until the next month or year, or even for a number of years. This is why people need to search regularly to be sure they've exhausted all potential sources.

On top of the issues mentioned above, beginners will run in to a lot of stumbling blocks that will frustrate them in their searches. The only real way for TN residents to know that they're performing thorough searches is to educate themselves before they begin their search. The best way to do this is to copy what others are doing. Why make the usual beginner's mistakes when you can learn from professional searchers and duplicate their techniques?

–

Cash Dash visits Steger, Homewood
Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford attended recent Cash Dash events in Steger and Homewood to reunite people with

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