Reported by

Philip Morris International unclaimed money

59
accounts turned over to the state: $516K
total value: $6,742
median account: $44,060
largest single account

Philip Morris International reported 59 accounts to the state that it could not return to their owners, together worth $515,744. That is not an accusation — it is what the law requires. When a company cannot reach you for a dormancy period, usually around three years, it must stop holding your money and hand it to the state.

The state then becomes custodian. It holds the money in your name, indefinitely, and publishes the record publicly so you can find it. Nothing expires, and the state never takes ownership.

If you banked with, worked for, held a policy with or bought something from Philip Morris International and then moved, this is exactly how money gets stranded. The notice went to the address they had, which was the old one.

One reason to still contact Philip Morris International

They cannot give you the money — they no longer have it. But they usually still hold the underlying account records, and a written confirmation of your old account from Philip Morris International is often precisely the evidence the state asks for and that you no longer have. It is the highest-value phone call in a difficult claim.

What kind of accounts these are

Property type	Records
Dividend Reinvestment Plan	32
Underlying Shares/Outstand Cer	26
Dividends	1

Where the owners were

The cities appearing most often on Philip Morris International records — these are the addresses the company had on file when the mail stopped arriving.

City	Records
Menlo Park, CA	12
Citrus Heights, CA	3
Beverly Hills, CA	2
Costa Mesa, CA	2
Lake Forest, CA	2
Los Angeles, CA	2
Riverside, CA	2
Arcadia, CA	1

Philip Morris International unclaimed money: common questions

Does Philip Morris International owe me money?

Possibly, though it is no longer Philip Morris International holding it. Philip Morris International reported 59 accounts it could not reach the owner of, worth $515,744, and by law transferred that money to the state. The state holds it in the owner's name indefinitely. Searching your name is free and takes about ten seconds.

Why did Philip Morris International give my money to the state?

It had no choice. Escheat law requires a company holding money it cannot return — a dormant account, an uncashed cheque, an unclaimed refund or benefit — to hand it to the state after a dormancy period, usually around three years. Philip Morris International would have attempted to contact you at the address on file first; if that address was out of date, the notice never arrived.

Do I contact Philip Morris International to get it back?

No. Once the money has been escheated, Philip Morris International no longer holds it and cannot return it. The claim goes to the state unclaimed property office. Philip Morris International is still worth contacting for one thing: they often retain the underlying account records, which can be exactly the proof the state asks you for.

How much is a typical Philip Morris International record worth?

The median is $6,742 and the largest single record is $44,060. 10 of the 59 records — 17% — are worth over $10,000 each. These figures cover records of $2,500 and up with no claim activity against them.

Is claiming it free?

Yes. The state charges nothing to return your own property. Anyone who asks you to pay a fee before you receive the money is running a scam, without exception.

Did Philip Morris International lose track of you?

Search your name against every record in our database. Free, no account, and we do not ask for a Social Security number just to look.

Search your name — free

Counted from the California public unclaimed property file, refreshed weekly, covering records of $2,500 and above with no claim activity recorded. Records reported under several internal names for the same company are merged. Philip Morris International is named here solely because it appears as the reporting holder in public state records; nothing on this page implies any wrongdoing by Philip Morris International, and we are not affiliated with it.

Find My Unclaimed is a private company. We are not a government agency and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any state treasurer, controller, or unclaimed property office. You always have the right to file your own claim directly with the state for free.