Virginia's treasury flooded with unclaimed money requests, thanks to TikTok
Virginia unclaimed property cash outs
The existence of unclaimed property websites is nothing new but a recent TikTok trend telling people how to claim their share of millions is likely leading to Virginia's Treasury paying out more claims than ever before. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald spoke with Virginia state officials who have been at the center of the storm.
The existence of unclaimed property websites is nothing new but a recent TikTok trend telling people how to claim their share of millions is likely leading to Virginia's Treasury paying out more claims than ever before.
Treasury officials in the commonwealth tell FOX 5 that they believe it is the direct result of multiple TikTok videos explaining to people how they can legally find unclaimed property and money that's due to them. Those funds can range from old bank accounts, to uncashed checks, or lost stock dividends.
The unclaimed property division of the Virginia Treasury is seeing record numbers. Director Bradley Earl tells FOX 5 that Virginia has paid out over $46 million for 50,000 claims this fiscal year - and that's already double all of the claims received and paid out in 2022.
"With all of that in place and people learning more and more about unclaimed property and seeing how legitimate the program really is, the increase we saw last week from TikTok is into the triple digits the first time through that fast track program" said Earl.
In August, Virginia launched a new unclaimed property website eliminating paper applications and sending documents in the mail. The new site allows people (whether they live in Virginia or not). You can search, complete the application and fill out documentation all online and approved claims can get their money in about 10 days. To start the process, go to https://www.vamoneysearch.gov/.