COLUMBIA, S.C. — Many South Carolinians have unclaimed money sitting in a state fund.
The Office of the State Treasurer has an unclaimed property program, where South Carolinians can search their names to see if they have any money in there.
People may think this doesn’t apply to them, but it’s actually very common. State Treasurer Curtis Loftis says it's easier to find money in the fund than it is to win the lottery.
Money accumulates in the fund from overpaid property taxes, uncashed checks, insurance claims, inheritance and much more.
Loftis said in an interview, "It's funny because we really sometimes have to shake people and say, we have money for you. I mean, you!"
He shared an example of a South Carolinians in North Augusta who has $566,000 in the fund that she hasn't claimed yet.
"Her daddy was a railroad man and got stock every every month or so whenever he got paid," Loftis explained. "He didn't die 'til he was 93 years old... So, he had all this stock and she just didn't believe it."
Loftis said he's going to drive to Augusta to help the woman claim her money.
Loftis recommends people search their names in the fund twice a year to see if there's any money they could claim.
Here are the steps to see if you have any money in the unclaimed property fund:
1. Go to treasurer.sc.gov
2. Scroll down the home page and click the button that says "unclaimed property."
3. When it redirects to the next webpage, click the button that says "search for unclaimed property."
4. Enter your name and city (optional)
5. A list of unclaimed properties (money) will pop up under similar names.
6. If you find money to your name, you’ll go through a verification process to get it.
Every state has an unclaimed property fund and has a similar website to search names. When searching under other states, double check you're on the state government's correct website.