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Starting Monday, April 13, State Treasurer Lynn Fitch opened a call center to handle calls from Mississippians checking to see if they have unclaimed property. By the close of business Friday, April 17, the Treasurer’s Office handled over 1355 claims that, if verified, will return 2,748 unclaimed properties worth $1,046,485.83.
“This is very exciting, and our staff has been working hard to get these dollars back into the hands of Mississippians,” said Treasurer Fitch. “The success from this week, combined with the $41.5 million we have been able to return prior to April 13, means we’ve been able to put about $42.5 million back into the state’s economy.”
Holders of unclaimed property were required to report abandoned intangible property to the Treasurer’s office by November 1, 2014. The call center was planned last fall to coincide with the 2015 publication of the list of the newly-reported unclaimed properties. The Treasurer’s office coordinated with the Mississippi Press Association to run the publication in newspapers across the state starting on Wednesday, April 15. The reporting and publication cycle occurs every three years 
under Mississippi law. The call center will remain staffed for the next few weeks to handle the increased call volume that occurs every publication year.
Unclaimed property can be anything from forgotten utility deposits, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, and unclaimed inheritances. This past week, some of the larger unclaimed properties that have been matched (pending verification) were proceeds from two insurance policies worth $70,178.04 and $44,220.53, respectively; $ 11,830.48 of dividends plus interest; and $190,000 in stocks.
To find out if you have unclaimed property, check your name online at www.treasurerlynnfitch.com.
