SALT LAKE CITY – June 19, 2020 – The Utah Unclaimed Property Division of the Office of State Treasurer is hosting its first-ever webathon on Monday, June 22 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. to raise awareness of unclaimed property and encourage Utahns to find and claim their lost money online.
The Unclaimed Property Division is safeguarding more than $370 million in lost money, and one in five Utahns has lost money. Each year, the division reunites tens of millions of dollars of property with rightful owners, including a record $29.3 million in FY2019. More than $10.9 million of the FY2019 total was paid out to businesses.
“This money has the potential to make a difference in the lives of Utahns during these challenging economic times. We encourage every Utahn to search the state website for lost money and spread the word to family, friends and acquaintances,” Treasurer Damschen said. “The goal of the webathon is to raise awareness of unclaimed property among those who don’t know we exist and encourage those who have searched for or claimed property in the past to search again.”
The six-hour webathon will take place online at treasurer.utah.gov/UPwebathon, as well as on Facebook and YouTube. During the event, the division will post live statistics and information about unclaimed property. Several guests, including claimants, nonprofit organizations and elected officials, will join the online conversation to share their unclaimed property experiences.
Before and during the event, Utahns are encouraged to share information about unclaimed property on social media and invite their friends and family to find and claim their lost money on mycash.utah.gov. Individuals who tag three friends in a comment on an Unclaimed Property Division Facebook post about the webathon and share the post in the days preceding and during the webathon will be entered into a drawing to win an Amazon gift card.
“We are implementing extra measures during the COVID-19 pandemic to reunite lost property with rightful owners, including increased advertising on social media and rural radio, hosting a webathon and expediting the processing of claims where possible to speed the delivery of claim checks,” Unclaimed Property Division Administrator Dennis Johnston said. “In the days leading up to the webathon, we are already seeing comments on social media by people with unclaimed property who had never heard about unclaimed property until they were tagged in a comment about the webathon.”
Unclaimed property staff will be online during the event and ready to process the claims submitted through mycash.utah.gov. They are also prepared to answer questions and concerns by email and through the chat function on mycash.utah.gov. While the focus of the webathon is to utilize the web, staff is also available to assist by phone.
Treasurer Damschen is available for media interviews throughout the event.