How to Find Money, Unclaimed Property, Refunds and More Free

unclaimed money

Each year thousands of people are unaware that they are owed money, unclaimed property, refunds and other valuable assets.

Find out if you are one of these people. Here is how to find money, unclaimed property, refunds and more free.

Instructions

1. Search online for web sites where you can do a free search for unclaimed property or money that is owed to you. An example is the website MissingMoney.com. This is a free to use database of unclaimed property including bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, CD's, stocks, bonds, uncashed checks, insurance policies, trust funds, and more. You can search by your name, city and state to investigate if you are owed anything and claim the item if you are eligible, following the instructions given on the website.

2. Look for government sources that offer free ways to search for unclaimed items online. For example, HUD (U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development) has an online tool you can use to see if you are owed money. You would have needed to have a FHA insured mortgage. You may be eligible for a refund for a portion of the insurance premium or a share of any excess earnings from the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund if you meet the qualifications as listed on the website.

3. For those who have pensions, look for web sites such as the one for the PBGC (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) which helps to locate people owed money through benefits. You can search by the last name of a pension participant, the name of the company for which the participant worked, and by state.

4. Consider doing a search for money owed to you from savings bonds. You can use online services such as the Treasury Direct Treasury Hunt, which contains records of savings bonds and payments that have been returned to the Department of Treasury because they were undeliverable. They can tell you about savings bonds that are no longer earning interest so you can cash or reinvest them. The system only contains records of Series E bonds that were issued 1974 and after.

5. If you want to search for other types of unclaimed money, you can use web sites such as USA.Gov, another free resource where you can check for unclaimed property, mortgage refunds, credit union unclaimed shares and more. This website also has useful resources for exchanging damaged or mutilated money to the Treasury Department, checking on your tax refund status and other useful information.

6. Follow the instructions for any of the web sites or programs you choose to use.

Resources

• MissingMoney.com
• HUD Refund Search
• PBGC Unclaimed Pension Benefits Search
• Treasury Hunt Savings Bonds Search
• USA.Gov Unclaimed Property Search