Websites Getting Involved in Unclaimed Money Searches
Unclaimed money searches often begin on a very skeptical note for most of the potential claimants. It is unbelievable for most of the people that the state might be holding some of their lost funds or properties and which can be claimed through a legal process. The awareness campaign initiated by the various state treasuries, NAUPA and the federal government, has made some impact as far as the number of people coming forward to claim their funds is concerned.
Every media avenue is being utilized by the state treasuries and federal government to create widespread and reliable news releases regarding the unclaimed money searches. Every state treasury has launched very informative websites which are loaded with relevant unclaimed money search content. These websites are also connected with unclaimed money databases so the most updated information regarding the owners of unclaimed funds can be seen and searched on the websites.
In addition, every website has an online claim form which can be filled in a couple of simple steps. In addition to these official and government sponsored websites, there are some accredited unclaimed money search websites which assist the owners of unclaimed in locating their unclaimed funds and also in guiding them through a correct search process.
The websites which deserve a mention because of their reliability and ease of use are:
1] Missingmoney.com: This is a NAUPA-endorsed website that hosts search-able databases for nearly every state. If your state is not in the list, then you can visit the NAUPA’s official website itself (unclaimed.org).
2] For unclaimed Refunds Checks, you can visit the official IRS website (www.irs.gov). In a recent report, it was disclosed that by the end of 2009, IRS had more than 0 million in unclaimed refund checks.
3] Demutualization Payouts: The best place to search this form of unclaimed money is www.demutualization-claims.com. Over the past decade, some major insurers have converted from mutual life insurance companies, owned by their policyholders, into publicly traded firms, owned by shareholders. In this process of demutualization, the firms give their policyholders shares of stock or cash.
4] Old Stock Certificates: It is another very common type of missing money and also very hard to track down. The best place to start looking for the unclaimed money in Old Stock Certificates is www.oldcompany.com. If you have the CUSIP number, an identification number used for stocks and bonds, call your broker and find out the value of the security. If you don’t have the CUSIP number but know the name of the company, try the investor-relations department of the firm and ask the registrar to help you.
5] For Lost Pension Checks, the most reliable website will be www.pbgc.gov. Were you a participant in a pension plan offered by a company that went out of business or closed its plan? Millions of dollars of pension benefits go unclaimed because those owed the money can’t be found.
6] In case of unclaimed Bank Accounts, the most trusted information about your bank can be found at www2.fdic.gov.
7] Do you have unclaimed or forgotten Savings Bonds. The most reliable website for this will be www.treasurydirect.gov. Savings bonds are more often forgotten than lost — billions of dollars of matured savings bonds have never been cashed.
8] Free Unclaimed Money Websites. There are many unclaimed money websites cropping up throughout the internet. To access one of the largest single databases of U.S. unclaimed money, the most reliable and popular unclaimed money website is www.cashunclaimed.com. This database includes the owners and the associated unclaimed funds and covers all the fifty states.
