Claim lost money: How to find benefits, old accounts, deposits, wages owed

I’ll never forget helping Robert from Virginia find $24,578 sitting in a bank account he didn’t know existed. He heard me talk about how to find hidden money on my national radio show.

These days, just about everything seems like a scam, but money might be yours, just waiting to be claimed. You need to know the legitimate places to look. 

Why is all this unclaimed money sitting around? You have to do some work to get it. Here’s how.

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Don’t hire a service for this

Helping everyday citizens claim lost money is one of the duties of the U.S. Treasury Department. You are entitled to any of your or a deceased relative’s old bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, uncashed checks, insurance policies, CDs, trust funds, utility deposits, stocks and bonds, wages, and escrow accounts.

You don’t need to hire a dubious service or spend money to make money. If anyone asks for payment to help you find unclaimed property, ditch them. You can easily do it yourself.

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Your search begins where you live. Each state has an independent treasury website with a special search function for unpaid dues. 

Skip Google since scammers abound on searchers like this. To find the link for your state’s treasury website, visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property site. Select your state or province.

Each state’s site is a little different, but follow the step-by-step instructions, enter your information, and the database will do the rest. Often, the paperwork you need to complete to claim your money can be printed on these pages.

You will also need to prove your identity and likely have signatures notarized. The time to collect depends on each government agency; it can take weeks or months, but it works.

Pro tip: If you have a frequently misspelled name or have variations that are often confused, search for those misspellings on the unclaimed funds' sites. Search for any former names or nicknames, too.

Your specific state search may lead you to a national database site, MissingMoney.com. If you’ve lived or done business in many states, this site will connect you to the correct treasury departments.

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MissingMoney is a free government search site. All the site asks for is your name and resident state(s). Living in several places does complicate your search, so you may have to sift through the results.

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs offers a search on its site for unclaimed insurance funds owed to current and former policyholders or beneficiaries. The search does not include funds from Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) or Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) policies from 1965 to the present. But it’s worth a shot.

Simply search for your or your veteran’s last name on the VA.gov site.

As you move from company to company in your career, it’s your task to see whether past benefits or retirement savings can be transferred or cashed out. You could have money sitting in a past 401K account you forgot.

The National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits will help you find money being held from prior employers. To search, you will be asked to enter your Social Security number. The site is secure and promises to encrypt personal information and conduct regular security audits. It seems safe to me.

Banks close like other businesses. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) offers a specialized search to see if money in your name was left in any failed financial institutions.

You can search the money left in credit unions at the National Credit Union Administration site.

At TreasuryHunt.gov, you can look for any matured savings bonds that have stopped paying interest.

The Internal Revenue Service may owe you money. Every year, the IRS has millions of dollars in tax refunds that go undelivered or unclaimed. 

If you think the IRS might owe you money, you can file a claim to the IRS to update them about your new address. Additionally, if an employer withholds funds from you, the IRS gives you up to three years to submit a claim to collect your money.

You never know what you’ll find. Set a reminder to do this on an anniversary, your birthday, or another date you’ll remember each year. Let me know if you find a hidden treasure so I can celebrate with you.

Keep your tech-know going 

My popular podcast is called "Kim Komando Today." It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode.

PODCAST PICK: Space junk hitting Earth, cruise ship potty cam & how to purge your browser's dirty secrets

Plus, will ChatGPT take your job? I speak with Matt Schlicht, CEO of Octane AI and a leader in the chatbot space, about the future of AI in the workplace and how to get it to work for you. Child predators target kids' webcams, Hawaiian tourists' GPS blunder and make sure your security cam doesn't break the law.

Check out my podcast "Kim Komando Today" on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player.

Listen to the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for my last name, "Komando."

Sound like a tech pro, even if you’re not! Award-winning popular host Kim Komando is your secret weapon. Listen on 425+ radio stations or get the podcast. And join over 400,000 people who get her free 5-minute daily email newsletter.

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ChatGPT Makes Its Debut as a Smartphone App on iPhones

ChatGPT is now a smartphone app.

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Android secret tip: How to make your phone show a split screen

I always love finding a new hack on my Android, and this one is exceptionally helpful. There is a way for you to use more than one app at any given time on your Android by creating a split screen. I'm going to show you how easy it is to do it.

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The best benefit of having a split screen on your Android is that you can complete multiple tasks at one time on one screen rather than having to flip back and forth between apps. This is certainly an advantage that Android owners have, as it is not a feature that is offered on Apple devices. 

Note: Using the split screen feature on your Android is only available for Android 7 models or later. If you have an older model, you will need to upgrade to have this feature. Also, settings may vary depending on your Android phone's manufacturer.

EXPOSING THE TOP SCAMS TARGETING COSTCO SHOPPERS

For example, perhaps you're in the middle of texting your friend and then remember that you have an important email to send. You can split your screen between email and text messaging apps to keep both conversations going on at one time. Or maybe you're in the middle of watching a video on your Android, but you also want to scroll through social media. Splitting your screen can allow you to do both.

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Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

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What’s your favorite shortcut on your phone? Let us know by commenting below.

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Have you tried splitting your screen yet on your Android? Let us know by writing us at CyberGuy.com/Contact.

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Are Alexa and Siri AI?

It might be some time before we see the futuristic concept of artificial intelligence that is depicted in science fiction novels and films come about in real life, but AI is still all around us. Most homes have some form of voice assistant gadget, such as an Alexa smart home device or Siri assistant on an iPhone. These machines have developed the ability to learn and respond in a way similar to humans’ cognitive abilities, all thanks to artificial intelligence algorithms. 

Yes. Alexa and Siri are applications powered by artificial intelligence. They rely on natural language processing and machine learning, two subsets of AI, to improve performance over time. 

Amazon’s Alexa is a voice-controlled system that works alongside the Echo speaker that receives the spoken request. The artificial intelligence capability within Alexa allows the user to speak the request and receive a response without ever having to touch a screen or push a button.

Apple’s Siri acts similarly to Alexa, but it is a computer application primarily used in the company’s phones and tablets. Its artificial intelligence mechanism recognizes speech, processes it as data, and then responds with an answer or action. Siri can answer questions and fulfill requests, such as reading a text message out loud or playing a song on the device. 

IS AI ADA COMPLIANT?

Both Siri and Alexa, along with other virtual agents, are designed to communicate in a way that's similar to natural human conversation. In a mere moment, these machines can give an answer to inquiries, such as "What is the weather today" or "How do I make chicken noodle soup?" This is all possible because of conversational artificial intelligence.

Conversational AI is a type of artificial intelligence that attempts to mimic real-life human conversations. Siri, Alexa and other voice assistants are examples of conversational AI. These bots are not simply programmed with answers to questions but instead are a result of machine learning and natural language processing. They have extensive amounts of data that allow them to recognize speech and text to then translate these inputs into meaning.

Natural language processing (NLP) allows a voice assistant machine, like Alexa and Siri, to understand the words spoken by the human and to replicate human speech. This process converts speech into sounds and concepts, and vice versa.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF AI?

For Alexa, the voice of the speaker is recorded and sent to Amazon’s servers to analyze which words most closely correlate with the sounds spoken. Once the command is understood, Amazon then sends the requested information back to the device and in some cases, Alexa will speak a response. 

For Siri, a small speech recognizer is stored directly on the device to wait for the words "Hey Siri" to be spoken. If there is enough confidence that the phrase spoken was "Hey Siri," the device will activate. Once the command or request is given by the human speaker, Siri takes the audio, converts it into a data file and sends it back to the Apple servers. Here, the main automatic speech recognition and natural language understanding functions break down the command. This data gets sifted through algorithms to determine the inputted phrase's meaning. A response is then given back to the user. 

Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence that allows computers to learn without explicitly being trained. It is used by the device to learn about the habits and preferences of the owner of the voice assistant. Over time, these machines get better with responses and requests.

WHAT IS BERT?

Alexa and Siri use machine learning to improve based on the errors they make. They use data from negative encounters, such as the speaker rejecting an answer, to train and improve for future requests. Because of machine learning, these devices continue to get smarter and more advanced. Alexa can now carry on a conversation from one request to the next, as in a follow-up question. Siri has improved its ability to recognize the "Hey Siri" wake up command even when there is loud background noise or music. 

There are two different categories of AI: strong AI and weak AI. Voice assistants like Siri and Alexa are classified as weak AI. This type of AI, also referred to as narrow AI, gives the illusion of human intelligence but cannot think for itself. Strong AI, in contrast, would be an AI machine that is equal in intelligence to a human.

Initially, Alexa and Siri were revolutionary companions in most households. They acted as futuristic and convenient methods of completing tasks and gathering information. Since then, the development of these machines have been minimal and users become frustrated with the lack of contextual language capabilities that they offer. With innovations in conversational AI, such as ChatGPT, voice assistants have not evolved to the degree they would need to remain competitive.

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Recent shifts have been made to revive these machines as both companies have openly discussed developing new models with greater natural language processing abilities. Amazon announced that their new Alexa AI model will focus on generalized intelligence, where models can transfer knowledge between tasks and languages without human input. In Amazon’s blog, they acknowledge that these developments were inspired by OpenAI. Apple has also announced the next generation of Siri with enhanced capabilities using contextual language and machine learning technology. 

It is clear that these companies remain intent on incorporating artificial intelligence into their products and services.

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Researchers use AI to understand Alzheimer's disease, identify drug targets

A team of researchers from the University of Arizona and institutions across the country are using artificial intelligence to hopefully pinpoint the cause of Alzheimer's disease and potential drug targets. 

Led by Dr. Rui Chang, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, the study's authors have looked into the brain to map molecular changes that healthy neurons undergo as the disease progresses. 

The work was published in the journal Nature Communications Biology.

Using tissue samples from more than 2,000 brains impacted by the disease that were taken from a national database, Chang’s AI algorithm drew from information about genetic and molecular processes. That method returned what the university said in a release was a "computational network model" of the human brain. 

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His team is now able to see maps of genes that work together across the human genome. The genome is the entire set of DNA instructions found in a cell.

Furthermore, they have the ability to follow the sequential changes in these genes’ relationships as Alzheimer’s develops, providing hints about the disease’s origins and "tracing the molecular path from health to disease."

"This is not studying one gene by one gene — it’s 6,000 targets all at the same time, which will significantly accelerate drug development and discovery," Chang said in a statement. "This is the first study showing that the AI and big data-driven approach could open the door to develop treatment for Alzheimer’s by targeting new pathways or combinations of pathways."

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The AI was used to help flag 19 neuron-specific genetic points on the Alzheimer's pathway that appear to push neurons closer toward a disease state. 

Collaborators to the study at Harvard University found that 10 genes could be investigated as targets for drugs to treat Alzheimer’s.

Using 3D computer models, the team virtually screen millions of Food and Drug Administration-approved, natural product and small-molecule compounds against more than 6,000 targets. They zeroed in on around 3,000 drug candidates of interest and the team already has a National Institutes of Health grant enabling clinical trials on three of the compounds. 

"We’re hopeful that AI is a game changer," Chang said. "In five years, I hope there are more clinical trials for drugs for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and in 10 years, I hope there will be a couple of FDA-approved drugs to stop or potentially reverse disease progression."

Chang told Fox 10 Phoenix that his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. It impacts an estimated 6.5 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the fifth leading cause of death for adults aged 65 and older, and the seventh leading cause of death for all adults.

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From Resumes to Job Offers: How AI Could Replace the ‘Human' in ‘Human Resources'

Your next job interview could look different, thanks to AI. This is how companies are using AI to funnel the best candidates to the top of the pile

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Exposing the top scams targeting Costco shoppers

Costco is a retail juggernaut that has won the hearts and wallets of millions of Americans. With its unbeatable combination of top-notch products and rock-bottom prices where you can find everything you need and more all under one roof, it's no wonder that it's the go-to destination for savvy shoppers. 

Nevertheless, wherever there is a beloved destination, fraudsters will attempt to exploit it for their own gain. To safeguard its loyal customers, the giant retailer has issued alerts regarding several common scams that these criminals employ to deceive unsuspecting shoppers like you and me. 

Let's go through some of the most popular ones, so that you know what to look out for. 

1. Avoid all fake emails 

The Costco Executive membership is a great way to save money because you can earn an annual 2% reward on qualifying purchases at Costco, Costco.com and Costco Travel. However, this is something that hackers try to take advantage of. They will try to email or text you about these rewards and will likely ask you to click on a link that has malware or will ask you to give away your personal information. 

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Costco will only send you your reward certificate along with your annual renewal notice by mail, and it will only be sent to the primary member. So if you are contacted in any other way by someone claiming to be from Costco, don't trust it. 

You may also have gotten emails in the past about winning a new product like a TV or gaming system, exclusive giveaways, or even asking you to take a survey. Make sure you are always checking the email address of the sender before you proceed in clicking any links or opening any attachments within these emails. Costco's official email that it uses to send real messages is Costco@online.costco.com, so if the email that you're opening doesn't have that exact address, it's likely a scam. 

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2. Watch out for fake websites 

There are hackers out there who will try to make fake websites that look identical to Costco's so that people will give away their personal information or try to buy a product that they'll never get. Costco's URL is a pretty simple one, https://www.costco.com. Make sure you're always checking the URL of the website you're on before you type in any information or try to purchase anything. 

3. Postal service scams 

Another trick that a hacker will use is sending an email that looks like it is coming from the U.S. Postal Service that tells you your package has been lost, and you have to apply for re-delivery. They will send out these emails to people regardless of if you are expecting to receive a package or not. If you know for a fact that you have not ordered anything online from Costco, ignore this email. If you have ordered something from Costco, reach out to the company directly either via their live chat service or their customer service number at 1 (800) 774-2678. Let them know about the email you received, and they will help you from there. 

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4. Phony job interviews 

Yes, you read that heading correctly. Scammers will even go as far as to send people emails about job interviews to work for Costco, even if you've never applied. They will ask for your employment information and other personal details in exchange for a job interview with the company. No company should be asking you for any personal information until you've already been hired, so if you're receiving an email like this, it's most certainly a scam. 

5. Texting scams 

Sometimes a hacker may text you with links to take surveys or claim some fake "reward," similar to email scams. They also may try to trick you with direct deposit scams, which is when they send you a text asking you to connect your credit card information to Costco for instant cash-back rewards. This is how they try to steal your credit card number or even your bank account number for their gain. 

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Don't click on any links sent to you this way, especially if they're using urgent language trying to get you to act fast. 

6. Special Covid-19 perks 

Scammers have also tried convincing Costco customers of a so-called "Costco coronavirus stimulus package," in which a person would become eligible for free perks for being a Costco member. There is no such thing as a Costco coronavirus stimulus package, and any message you receive about this, whether it's via email or text message, is from a scammer. 

7. Gift card scams 

Costco offers its customers Shop Cards that they can give to their loved ones as gifts or use for themselves. However, these cards can only be used on Costco's website or at a store location, and the company will never send you a message about redeeming your card. The card is not redeemable for cash, and you should ignore any message you receive prompting you to redeem your card. 

8. Fake Facebook scams 

There have been scammers in the past who try to trick people with fake Facebook ads. They will disguise themselves as workers or even CEOs of Costco claiming that they are celebrating a special anniversary with the company and then offer people items like food boxes from the store if they share, like, or comment on the post. Below is an example from Costco's website of what these fake posts might look like.

OLDER AMERICANS ARE BEING TARGETED IN A MALVERTISING CAMPAIGN  

9. Fraudulent cart notifications 

You might also receive an email about so-called "items in your cart." This is when a scammer will tell you that you have left items in your cart while shopping online without completing your purchase and then urge you to click a link that will lead you to Costco's website. However, this will lead you to a fake website that usually contains malware or will ask you to give over more personal information. 

How can I further protect myself from these scams? 

Keeping a watchful eye on all your emails and text messages is never a bad idea. However, we are only human, and these scammers can get clever, so there is only so much we can avoid on our own. That's why I'm urging you to take the following further precautions if you have not done so already. 

Have good antivirus software on all your devices. 

Installing antivirus software will protect you from accidentally clicking malicious links that would install malware onto your devices. The software will also remove any existing malware from your devices.

See my expert review of the best antivirus protection for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at CyberGuy.com/LockUpYourTech. 

Use identity theft protection.

Identity theft protection companies can monitor personal information like your home title, Social Security number, phone number, and email address, and alert you if it is being sold on the dark web or being used to open an account. They can also assist you in freezing your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals.

One of the best parts of using some services is that they might include identity theft insurance of up to $1 million to cover losses and legal fees and a white glove fraud resolution team where a U.S.-based case manager helps you recover any losses. 

See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft by visiting CyberGuy.com/IdentityTheft. 

Have you seen any recent Costco scams lately? Let us know by writing us at CyberGuy.com/Contact.

For more of my scam alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to CyberGuy.com/Newsletter.

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