Residents of Rock Island, Illinois who visited the town office in early September were greeted by a member of the Illinois State Treasurers office who was hoping to reunite them with unclaimed money or unclaimed property owed to them. As part of the Treasurer’s office’s outreach program they travel from town to town asking residents for basic information to search and see if they have any missing money. Illinois has over $2.8 billion in unclaimed money and unclaimed property.
The Illinois Treasurer’s site offers variety of information, including how to recognize and deal with finding companies, specific instructions for how to file claim online, and print claim forms. There is also a link to search for lost IRS refund checks. The Unclaimed Property Division frequently hosts outreach events designed to educate the public about unclaimed properties. The site provides a link to e-bay for auctions of unclaimed tangible properties e.g. contents of a safe deposit box. The site offers information for how to protect assets, and search for monies from other sources such as gift certificates, and the IRS. The site offers text in both English and Spanish.
South Carolina Hosts Unclaimed Money Phone Bank and Gives Back Over $700,000
On September 10th, the South Carolina Treasurers office hosted a phone bank to reunite residents with their unclaimed money or unclaimed property. According to SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis, over $720,000 was claimed:
According to a news release, more than half of the funds claimed — $441,504 — were submitted within 32 hours of the start of the phone bank, and the remaining balance was accrued over the course of the week.
“We expect to see those numbers continue to grow now that the storm has passed,” Loftis said.
“WSPA TV helped us reunite a lot of working people with lost funds during last week’s promotions on its newscasts, website and social media channels as well as a segment on the Your Carolina show of our Claim Your Cash for Christmas campaign,” Loftis said. “These funds will make a meaningful impact for these individuals. We thank WSPA for their community-minded spirit which helps make results like this possible.”
The South Carolina program for searching unclaimed money is called the Palmetta Payback. The search box worked and produced the name, address, and a sense if the unclaimed money was over or under $100. South Carolina still holds over $550 Million in unclaimed money and unclaimed property.