News — The ledger
Plain-language notes on refund programs, settlement deadlines, and official unclaimed-money searches — written to be useful before a deadline, not after it. Everything links back to the official source. Research, not legal advice.
When federal investigators recover unpaid wages and cannot find the worker, they hold the money for three years — then it goes to the Treasury. Unlike most unclaimed money, this pool expires.
Read the article →Unclaimed property
October 6, 2026 · 2 min readNobody hands your account to the state to punish you. It happens on a schedule, after a company loses track of you — and understanding the schedule tells you where to look.
Federal searches
September 29, 2026 · 1 min readThe Treasury's savings-bond search tool was retired on September 30, 2025. A lot of pages still send people to it. Here is the route that still works.
Scam alerts
September 22, 2026 · 2 min readEvery large settlement grows a crop of lookalike sites. The real administrator is always reachable from an official page, and never asks for the things the fakes ask for.
Federal searches
September 15, 2026 · 2 min readIf you once had an FHA-insured mortgage, HUD may be holding an unclaimed mortgage insurance refund. The search is free, the claim is free, and HUD says plainly that it does not sponsor the firms offering to find it for you.
Scam alerts
August 30, 2026 · 1 min readCash App's CFPB checks are landing in mailboxes now — and so are the look-alike scams. Here is how to tell a real settlement payment from a fake one.
Class actions
August 29, 2026 · 1 min readOne of the largest app-privacy settlements on record is paying out now. No notice ID is needed, and California users from the class period may receive a larger share.
Class actions
August 29, 2026 · 1 min readIf you filled prescriptions at a Kroger pharmacy with insurance between December 2018 and August 2026, you may be eligible. Here is what 'usual and customary' pricing means and why it mattered.
Class actions
August 28, 2026 · 1 min readThe men's personal-care brand is settling claims that some products labeled natural contained synthetic ingredients. Purchases from November 2018 through August 2026 may be eligible.
Class actions
August 27, 2026 · 1 min readMany settlements offer a small cash payment with no documentation and a larger one with it. Here is how to decide which door to take.
Credit protection
August 26, 2026 · 1 min readNearly every breach settlement offers free credit monitoring. Useful — but a freeze, also free, stops the fraud before it starts. You can have both.
Data breaches
August 25, 2026 · 1 min readBreach letters are arriving more often than ever. Most people either panic or toss them. Neither is right — here is the calm sequence.
FTC refunds
August 24, 2026 · 1 min readThe FTC sends money back to consumers after enforcement actions. Here is how those programs work, how to spot the real ones, and why you should never pay to get a refund.
Class actions
August 18, 2026 · 1 min readEvery settlement notice has a 'claim by' date. Missing it usually means missing the money — but the date is not the only thing worth reading on the official notice.
Unclaimed property
August 10, 2026 · 1 min readStates hold billions in forgotten bank accounts, refunds, and insurance proceeds. The official searches cost nothing, and anyone charging a 'search fee' is unnecessary at best.