About 63,000 people across Illinois will receive some mail including a check from the Illinois Treasurer. It’s called the Money Match Program.
A new law this year allows the cross-agency use of certain electronic records. Specifically, the Illinois Department of Revenue tax database will be used to match with the Treasurer’s list of people who have unclaimed property.
Treasurer Mike Frerichs says first people will receive a letter to verify the address and inform them it’s not a scam.“When they hear that money is coming from the state of Illinois, the state of Illinois wants to give them money a lot of people think there must be a scam involved or an identity thief. We send them the letter to let them know when they receive that check all they have to do is cash it.”
Frerichs says people who have unclaimed property worth less than $2,000 will first receive a letter to confirm it’s the right person and address. He says that will be followed by a check.
This eliminates the need for people to go through a notary and i.d. process some found too burdensome. But Frerichs says there is another layer of identification still used for returning assets valued at more than $2,000.
Frerichs says The Money Match Program has the potential to return $12-million in unclaimed money to people.
Copyright 2018 WCBU
