HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — After the holidays, we’re all looking to recoup some of that money we spent. While some may look into side hustles, it may be as easy as looking on the state’s treasury department website.
“It runs from a couple dollars to millions of dollars; we’ve seen it all the way around,” said Bradley Earl, Virginia’s director of unclaimed property.
It’s a program not many know about.
“I think we’re one of the few, if not the only governmental institution that’s trying to give money back to people that rightfully belongs to them,” Earl said.
It sounds almost too good to be true.
It’s called the Unclaimed Property Program, and it’s been around since the 1960s, implemented to help get leftover money back to their owners. And some states have billions of dollars waiting for people to claim.
“In North Carolina, there’s nearly $1.3 billion sitting in NCcash.com. The number of items we have, mainly cash and stocks, is twice the population of the state of North Carolina,” said North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell.
The money comes from inactive bank accounts, refunds from cable or utility companies, uncashed checks, and practically any financial transaction with any company.
“Gift cards—if those gift cards have expiration dates, those unused funds on those balances should be turned over,” Earl said.
A consumer protection law mandates that companies report dormant or inactive accounts to the Department of the Treasury Unclaimed Property Division. There, they hang on to those funds until they’re claimed by the owner. However, a lot of people don’t know the program exists. To find it, first go to your state’s treasury department website—it’s also worth checking any other state you’ve lived in.
“Somebody last week who did not have any money at NCcash.com, but they lived in Michigan their whole life, … they found $10,000 there,” Folwell said.
The program is gaining interest. North Carolina paid out nearly $110 million to claimants in the last year. A viral Tik Tok video skyrocketed the program’s popularity and now Virginia’s Director of Unclaimed Property says he may need to hire more people to handle the rush.
“I have a team of 10 people right now, we’re looking to bring more people in,” Earl said. “But we have over 17,000 claims right now that we’re trying to get through and it just takes a lot of time.”
Each state website is different and you may need to upload documents to prove who you are and where you lived. But, in the end, it may be worth the extra effort.
“Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars associated with life insurance policies or someone was designated a beneficiary,” Folwell said, “but they never knew it.”
To check Virginia’s program, check out VAmoneysearch.gov.
North Carolina’s website can be found at NCcash.com.