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Find The Money The Government Owes You ⚡
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PROMPTS

Find The Money The Government Owes You ⚡

About 1 in 7 people has unclaimed money sitting in an official government database. Three prompts, ten minutes, and Claude does the digging and the paperwork.

AEO SUMMARY Quick Overview & Execution Blueprint

There are billions of dollars sitting in official government databases right now. Forgotten deposits, old refunds, uncashed checks, all waiting for the right person to claim them. About 1 in 7 people has some. Here's how to have Claude find yours, for free, in about ten minutes.

SECTION

Yes, This Is Real

It sounds too good to be true, but it isn't. When a bank account goes dormant, a refund check never gets cashed, a utility deposit is forgotten, or an old paycheck goes uncollected, that money doesn't vanish. By law it gets handed over to the government and held for you, sometimes for years, waiting for you to come and claim it.

It's called unclaimed property, and the databases are public, official, and free to search. The catch is that almost nobody checks. That's the whole opportunity. Claude can do the checking for you across every place you've lived, in a few minutes.

What you'll need: Claude, and the Claude in Chrome extension for the claiming part. Have your full name, any past names or maiden names, and the places you've lived handy. That's the whole setup.

PROMPTS

Prompt 1: Search For Your Money

Start here. This has Claude search the official unclaimed property databases for anything listed under your name, across every state or region you've ever lived in.

Search my state's and my country's official

unclaimed property databases for money listed under

my name, and check every state I've ever lived in

too. Use official sources (like MissingMoney.com and

each state's treasury site). My name is [FULL NAME]

(also check [maiden name / past names]). I've lived

in [LIST EVERY STATE / PLACE]. For anything you

find, give me the source, the amount if it's shown,

and the link to start the claim.

What happens next: Claude searches the real government databases, forgotten deposits, old refunds, uncashed checks, and comes back with anything sitting under your name. Even a small hit is money that was already yours.

KEY INSIGHT
Why the names and places matter: Unclaimed property is filed by name and location. So old addresses, a maiden name, or a middle initial can be the difference between a match and a miss. Give Claude every version of your name and every place you've lived. Check for family members too, they have accounts they've forgotten just like you do.
KEY INSIGHT
Not in the US? Almost every country runs its own official unclaimed-money service. Just ask Claude to "find my country's official unclaimed money or dormant accounts service and search it under my name." Same idea, same free money, wherever you are.
PROMPTS

Prompt 2: The Places Everyone Forgets

Unclaimed property is just the start. There are whole other pots of money people leave behind. Stay in the same chat and run this.

Now check the places everyone forgets. Look for:

old 401(k)s or pensions from past jobs, unclaimed

tax refunds, and any class-action settlements I

might qualify for. My past employers were: [LIST].

Point me to the official tool to search for each

one, tell me what I likely qualify for, and exactly

how to claim anything I'm owed.

What happens next: Claude sweeps the sources most people never think to check and tells you where to look and how to claim.

What it's actually checking:

Old 401(k)s and pensions. Retirement money left at jobs you've moved on from, tracked in official retirement-benefit databases.

Unclaimed tax refunds. Refunds the tax authority couldn't deliver, checked through the official tax agency.

Class-action settlements. Payouts you qualify for from cases against companies you've used, filed through the official settlement sites.

PRO TIP
For class actions especially, you often just have to have been a customer of a company during a certain window, no receipts needed. Have Claude list the open ones you plausibly qualify for and the claim deadlines.
STEP

Step 3: Connect Chrome

To help you actually file the claims, Claude needs to use your browser. This is the step people get stuck on, so take it slow.

Add the Chrome connector. On the left in Claude, go to Customize, then Connectors. Click Add, then Browse connectors, search for Google Chrome, and add it.

Connect the Claude in Chrome extension. This is the part most people miss. The connector needs the Claude in Chrome extension installed in your browser. If you don't have it, add it from the Chrome Web Store, then open Chrome and click the Claude icon to connect it to your account.

KEY INSIGHT
If Chrome isn't working: Claude didn't open a browser? The extension probably isn't connected. Reopen Chrome, click the Claude extension icon, connect it, and try again. You can also just say "walk me through connecting Chrome" and Claude will guide you in the chat.
PROMPTS

Prompt 3: Start The Claims

Now the payoff. Claude opens your browser, goes to the official sites for what it found, and starts filling out the claims, doing the tedious parts so you don't have to.

Use Chrome to go to the official sites for what we

found and start the claims for me. Fill in the

parts you can, my name, my addresses, and the

property details, and walk me through each one one

at a time. Stop at anything that needs my Social

Security number, my ID, or my signature, and tell

me exactly what to enter and submit myself.

What happens next: Claude navigates to each official site and fills in the basic details. For simple claims, that's most of the form done for you.

KEY INSIGHT
How claiming really works: A claim proves you're you before the government hands over money, so it needs identity verification: your details, sometimes your Social Security number or ID, and often a signature or a mailed form. Claude fills the easy parts, but YOU type any sensitive ID info and hit submit yourself. Never let any AI or website enter your SSN or ID for you. On timing, some claims are approved online in minutes, but many are reviewed by the state and paid by check a few weeks later. Ten minutes to file, not always ten minutes to get paid.
PRO TIP
Do the biggest, simplest claims first. A straightforward unclaimed-property claim in your current state is often the fastest win. Save the ones that need mailed documents for when you've got a few minutes to print and sign.
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The One Scam To Never Fall For

This is important, because scammers love this topic. Searching for and claiming your own unclaimed money is always free on the official sites. Always.

Never pay a fee to claim your own money. If a website, a caller, or a text wants an upfront fee, a percentage, or your bank login to "release" money that's yours, stop. It's either a scam or an unnecessary middleman taking a cut of your own cash. The real government sites never charge you to claim what you're owed.

Stay on the official path. Use only the official sites: your state or country's treasury or unclaimed-property office, and MissingMoney.com, the free official multi-state search. If you get a text or email saying "we found your money, click here," don't click it. Go to the official site yourself and search. Have Claude confirm a site is the official one before you enter anything.

KEY INSIGHT
A good rule of thumb: Real unclaimed money costs you nothing to claim but a little paperwork. Anyone asking for money, gift cards, or passwords to give you money is running the scam. When in doubt, paste the message into Claude and ask if it's legit.
GUIDE

The One-Page Cheat Sheet

The whole thing, in order. Screenshot this and run it on your whole family.

STEP 1Search
STEP 2The Forgotten Sources
STEP 3Claim (Chrome Connected)

The rules that keep it safe: It's always free, never pay to claim your own money. Use only official sites. You type any SSN or ID yourself, never an AI. Some claims pay in minutes, most in a few weeks. And run the search for your parents and grandparents too, they almost certainly have something.

SECTION

Your Action Plan

  1. Run the search prompt with all your names and old addresses.
  2. Run the forgotten-sources prompt.
  3. Connect Chrome and start the easy claims.
  4. Never pay a fee, use only official sites.
  5. Run the whole thing again for a family member tonight.

It was always your money. You just had to go look.

PROMPT ENGINEERING PLAYBOOK Somya's Strategic Takeaway

A prompt is only as strong as its context architecture. Always define: 1) Persona & Authority, 2) Precise Business Objective, 3) Constraints (what NOT to do), and 4) Structured Output Schema (tables, JSON, or step-by-step frameworks). Save your highest-performing prompt chains as reusable team SOPs.

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