Relief Payments, Grants & Unclaimed Money: What's Real

What's actually out there right now

Let's start with the honest version, because a lot of what you see online about "relief checks" is bait.

Federal stimulus checks are over. The payments sent during the COVID years were one-time programs, and they ended. There is no ongoing federal stimulus check program, and no secret one you can "claim" through a website or a text message link.

State relief payments are sometimes real, but only sometimes. In some years, some states send tax rebates, inflation relief payments, or surplus refunds to their residents. These come and go, and the rules vary by state. The only trustworthy way to check is to go straight to your state's department of revenue or taxation website (search your state's name plus "department of revenue" and look for the .gov address). If a payment is real, it will be described there, usually with no application needed beyond filing your state taxes.

Unclaimed property is very real. Every state runs a program that holds money owed to people who lost track of it: old bank accounts, uncashed paychecks, insurance payouts, utility deposits, forgotten refunds. States hold billions of dollars in total, and searching for your name is free and takes minutes.

Who this can actually help

There is no single "relief program" you qualify for or don't. Instead, think of it as a short checklist almost anyone can run through:

• Anyone who has ever moved, changed banks, or changed jobs should search unclaimed property in every state they have lived in, and under maiden or former names too. You can also search for deceased relatives if you are their heir.
• Workers with low or moderate earnings should check the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The IRS estimates that a large share of eligible people never claim it, often because their income was low enough that they didn't file a return. It can be worth thousands of dollars for families, and it varies by income and family size.
• Households struggling with energy bills may qualify for LIHEAP, the federal energy assistance program run through the states. It can help with heating and cooling costs and sometimes urgent repairs. Income limits vary by state.
• Anyone behind on rent, a mortgage, or utilities can dial 211 or visit 211.org, a free and confidential service that connects you with local assistance programs, charities, and emergency funds in your area.

What you could get

Being honest means not promising numbers. Unclaimed property claims range from a few dollars to substantial sums. Most are modest, but the search is free, so there is no downside. The EITC varies with your income and number of children; check the official IRS page for the current figures. LIHEAP help varies by state and by year. State rebates, when they happen, are set by each state. None of this is life-changing money on its own, but together these are real dollars from real programs, which beats any amount of imaginary stimulus.

How to check, step by step

• Search unclaimed property at unclaimed.org (the official association of state programs, which links to every state's own site) and missingmoney.com (a multi-state search endorsed by those programs). Claims are filed with your state and are free.
• Check the EITC on the IRS website. If you qualify for past years and didn't file, you can generally still claim refunds for the last few tax years. Free tax help is available through IRS-sponsored programs like VITA.
• Apply for LIHEAP through your state's program (the federal LIHEAP page links to each state office).
• Call 211 for local rent, mortgage, food, and utility help. Tell them your situation; they will point you to what exists in your county.
• Check your state's revenue department once or twice a year for any rebate or relief programs. Bookmark the .gov site so a lookalike can't fool you.

A word about grants. Real federal grants are listed at grants.gov, and if you browse that site you'll notice something: they go to state agencies, universities, nonprofits, and researchers. There is no federal program that hands out personal grants for paying bills, shopping, or "being a good citizen." Anyone who says they can get you one (especially for a fee) is lying. This is one of the oldest scams on the internet, and it works because people want it to be true. It isn't.

Watch out for

This category attracts more scams than almost any other, because "free money" is such powerful bait. Here is what the scams look like in practice:

• Grant scams. A call, text, or social media message says you've been "selected" for a government grant. Sometimes it appears to come from a friend (whose account was hacked). The tell: you must pay a fee or share your bank details to receive it. Real grants don't find you, and they never charge.
• Fees to "release" your money. Someone claims a relief payment, inheritance, or unclaimed fund is waiting. All you have to do is pay taxes, insurance, or a transfer fee first. Real unclaimed property is claimed free through your state.
• Gift card and wire payments. No government agency will ever ask you to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer. That request, by itself, is proof of a scam.
• Lookalike websites. Scammers build sites that mimic state programs and charge for searches you can do free. Stick to .gov addresses, unclaimed.org, and missingmoney.com.
• "New stimulus check" posts and texts. These circulate constantly and link to phishing pages that harvest your Social Security number and bank login. If a payment were real, you would find it on irs.gov or your state's revenue site, never through a link someone sent you.

If you've already given information or money to one of these operations, report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov and contact your bank right away.