Here’s another website that searches public databases to collect your personal information… but instead of being scary it should work solely for your benefit! ClaimDog.com is a free service that simplifies the process of finding “unclaimed property” in your name. Just type in your first and last name along with your state(s) of residence.
Unclaimed property is created when a business owes you money or property but is unable get it to you for some reason. It could be a rebate check or a forgotten safe deposit box. You’ll need to verify your identity before they’ll send out the money. For example, apparently I was owed some money from DSL litigation in California several years ago, but moved before I could get the money. I was able to search through the public database and later get a check for about $75:
If your state makes it easy for ClaimDog to access their database, then the site will help direct you to your unclaimed property. Otherwise, it will just point you towards your state-specific website. (I also ran into some errors.) It’s still free and hopefully saves you some time.
Here are more places to check to see if you’ve got any money waiting for you:
- USA.gov – Listing of US government-related items, including bank FDIC insurance failures, mortgage insurance refunds, and more.
- Unclaimed.org – State-by-state unclaimed property listings
- MissingMoney.com
- TreasuryHunt.gov
- PBGC.gov – Unclaimed pension plan benefits
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All I could get it to tell me for the 3 or 4 states I pickedd (other than the default of california) was : Whoops an error occured! Sorry bout that. Try reloading the page to perform the search again.
Yup, same thing here, the site doesn’t work. Wonder if they have my name and state so they can now steal my unclaimed money or file a state tax return now.
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic. It’s just your first and last name.
CA had $20 for me! Thanks, Jonathan 🙂
Does it store your personal information?
Gotta agree with the others, the three states I tried (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona) all returned errors. Maybe it only reliably works with California?
I can confirm. Also getting the same error over and over again… “Whoops an error occured! Sorry bout that. Try reloading the page to perform the search again.”
Here in Virginia, I occasionally get that message, but most of the time I get:
“Whoops. Looks like this state’s database is down. If you’d like to be notified when the database is up again, enter your e-mail below. ”
Tried at various times of day, same thing every time.
Nice idea, not sure about implementation.
Yeah, it looks like it was up but hasn’t been maintained for a while. It still works for some states but it appears if the database link has broken recently they haven’t bothered to fix it. Sorry folks!
I’m happy to say this this website worked for me and it enabled me to collect $189.00 of lost funds from NY state. I had moved to Florida and i guess they couldn’t locate my forwarding address. Thanks so much for bringing ClaimDog to my attention.