ALBANY — New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is reminding people they may be eligible for lost and forgotten money.
The Comptroller’s Office oversees more than 46 million unclaimed funds accounts valued at $17.5 billion.
“In 2022, we gave back over $400 million in lost or forgotten money,” DiNapoli said in a news release. “Every month, we host events to spread awareness and encourage people to search for unclaimed funds that made be owed to them.
“The process is simple,” he continued. “Search for yourself, or for family members, friends, neighbors, churches, synagogues, mosques or any organization you care about to see if money is owed, and then claim it. In this new year, don’t wait to claim your money.”
The Comptroller’s Office has an online database where New Yorkers can check to see if they are owed money. The billions of dollars in unclaimed funds come from utility deposits, old bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance claims, stocks and other sources that have been dormant for years.
The Comptroller’s Office is able to go back several decades to retrieve lost money from various accounts.
Residents can search for and claim their money by using the online claiming system at the State Comptroller’s Office website or by calling 1 (800) 221-9311.
There are currently 16,016 forgotten accounts in Genesee County; 16,052 in Livingston County; 10,320 in Orleans County; and 8,539 in Wyoming County.
The funds total about $20 million in the GLOW region.
