The Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt
Is there a treasure waiting for you? It happens all the time. People move and forget to notify their bank or broker of their new address. Or they leave a job and never go back to pick up their last paycheck. Or they buy stock in a company, put the certificate in a "safe" place - and then forget it. Could it have possibly happened to you?
That's why former State Auditor Gus Wingfield created The Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt. To help Arkansans like you receive money that is rightfully yours. Names and address of 53,000 new owners were collected during the 2000-2001 fiscal year. More than 6,000 of these claims are valued at $400 or more.
Find out if you might be one of the thousands of Arkansans the State Auditor's Office is looking for. Visit either the Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt website or Auditor Jim Wood's website, or Call 1-800-Claim It
Watch the latest episode from September 30, 2008
Don't let your assets be declared abandoned
- Keep a record of all bank accounts.
- Indicate your interest in and awareness of all accounts by contacting the holder at least every four years.
- Record all stock certificates and be sure to cash all dividends received.
- Record all utility deposits, including telephone deposits.
- Respond in writing to any requests for confirmation of account balances with banks, stockbrokers and utility companies.
- If you have a safe-deposit box, record the name of the bank and the number of the account - and give an extra key to a trusted family member or friend.
- Prepare a checklist of all accounts to be notified when you change your address. Share this list with a family member or trusted advisor.
Dear Arkansans,
As your State Auditor, it is my duty to administer an important consumer protection law called the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property.
Each year millions of dollars are turned over to Arkansas by U.S. companies who cannot locate the owners. This money is in the form of:
- bank accounts
- stock certificates
- checks
- unclaimed wages
- safe-deposit boxes
- and other sources
Explore the Arkansas state government web site located at http://www.accessarkansas.org/
The responsibility for finding the missing owners is with the State Auditor's Office. The result is The Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt. The State Auditor's Office and AETN have teamed up in an effort to help you discover if some of this abandoned fortune could be yours. All you have to do is use the provided links to search a data base of names of missing owners or call 1-800-CLAIM IT for more information.
I urge you to join in The Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt today and claim the money that might be waiting for you!
Jim Wood
Auditor of State