Does the government owe you money? There have been several reports of people being awarded hundreds, even thousands of dollars in unclaimed cash by their individual state treasury departments. This is actually a pleasant surprise for most of the them since they weren't even aware they lost money in the first place!

A North Carolina man got a surprising call from a TV show on WRAL telling him he had an extra $4,682 going to his pocket. The show searches for NC unclaimed funds and tries to find unclaimed cash for its residents. Craig Helmers, who ironically is a banker, lost track of his money after a failed bid on a house a few years back. "I've been kicking myself in the pants. Yeah, quite a bit for letting that fly under the radar, no doubt about it," commented Helmers. He isn't alone. Two other North Carolina residents- Bill O'Connor and Gretchen Colley were also given a little over $4,000 and $6,300 , respectively.

There's even more out there up for grabs! The North Carolina Unclaimed Funds Division currently has around $700 million in unclaimed funds and property belonging to thousands of its residents. These lost assets come from forgotten bank accounts, lost checks, unclaimed retirement funds, etc. Don't sit around waiting for a call from your local TV station- you may not be as lucky as Craig Helmers, O'Connor and Colley. All residents of all 50 states should try to find unclaimed cash with the government because there's tons of it just sitting around waiting for the rightful owners to show-up.

Might be a good idea to get on on on the internet now and get some extra money in your hands to fight the recession. Do an easy unclaimed funds search online and you might even find extra cash for your friends and relatives.