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Does NY Owe You Money?

September 18, 2020
money

New York State has $16.5 billion in lost money and wants to give it back.

Quite a few New Yorkers have found themselves unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.  If you are looking for any extra cash there’s an easy way to search for any unclaimed money that could be owed to you. 

NY State's Unclaimed Funds

Who Has the money: Banks, insurance companies, corporations and the courts are among the many organizations required by law to report dormant accounts to the State Comptroller. These organizations must attempt to notify you by mail and publish the information in newspapers. Despite these efforts, many funds remain unclaimed and are turned over to the Office of the State Comptroller.

Types of Unclaimed Funds Accounts

  • Bank Accounts – savings, checking and CDs
  • Court Funds
  • Dividends
  • Estate Proceeds
  • Insurance Benefits/Policies
  • Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds
  • Telephone/Utility/Security Deposits

How do I find out if there are unclaimed funds in my name?

You can perform a search by visiting the State Comptroller's website. Type in your name and click "submit" to see if there are any funds in the database associated with your name. A last name is required but the first name can either be a full name or just an initial. If your name does not come up right away, the Comptroller's Office recommends some of the following search tips:

  • Narrow the results by entering an entire first name and/or middle initial, or expand your search by using the first initial of your first name.
  • Check that you did not enter a space before or after any part of the name. Spaces will affect the results
  • Eliminate spaces or punctuation within the last name (ie O'Conner - Oconner). Try a few variations of spelling you last name (common misspellings).
  • If filtering with "city," try previous and current cities/towns of residence.
  • City names may be abbreviated (ex. Brooklyn or BKLYN). Try variations of city name such as New York City, NYC, New York, or Manhattan.
  • Company names may be abbreviated (ex. AT&T or A T & T or Amer Tel & Tel).

If the search does not turn anything up but you still think there are unclaimed funds in your name, you can call the Office of Unclaimed Funds Communication Center at 1-800-221-9311. 

Click here to search for Unclaimed Funds in your name through the State Comptroller's Website.

 

Additional Resources

Unclaimed Funds by County and Region 
See how much money is unclaimed for residents of each New York county and region.

National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA)
A list of all State unclaimed property programs from the United States.

Other Places to Search for Unclaimed Funds

Avoid Unclaimed Money Scams

Beware of people who pretend to be the government and offer to send you unclaimed money in exchange for a fee or the exchange of confidential personal information. This practice is called phishing – a criminal activity using various techniques to trick you into providing personal or financial information through an email request or through a link to a fraudulent Web site. For more information on phishing, please visit the New York Department of State, Division of Consumer Protection.