Check Your Mailbox: Maine Is Sending Money to Thousands of Residents

Thousands of Mainers may want to keep an extra close eye on the mailbox next week, because some unexpected money could be on the way.

According to the Maine State Treasurer’s Office, about 34,000 checks are being sent out to people across the state as part of an effort to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners.

And before anyone tosses it aside thinking it looks too good to be true, officials say this is not a scam.

WGME 13 reported that the checks will range from $10 all the way up to $5,000, with the state sending out a total of about $10.5 million.

So where is this money coming from?

It is part of Maine’s unclaimed property program. That is money or other financial property that has been turned over to the state after the original owner could not be located. The news station said it can come from a variety of sources, including old bank accounts, unpaid wages, refunds, insurance payments, utility deposits, uncashed checks and more.

The treasurer’s office holds onto that money until it can be returned to the person or family it belongs to.

Earlier this year, CBS13’s I-Team partnered with the treasurer’s office for a Missing Money Call Center, which helped Mainers track down nearly $2 million in unclaimed property.

Even after that, there is still a massive amount of money waiting to be claimed. The state is currently holding more than $390 million in unclaimed property.

However, not everyone who is owed money will automatically receive one of these checks. The state was able to match some people with their unclaimed property, but many others may still have money sitting there without realizing it.

That is why officials say the best thing to do is search your name through Maine’s unclaimed property database. You can also search for family members, old addresses or even businesses you may have owned, WGME went on to explain.

For those included in this latest round of automatic payments, the checks are expected to begin arriving next week and should be in mailboxes by the end of the week.