What do the late Gov. Lawton Chiles, former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott, Congresswoman Corrine Brown, former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, former Miami Dolphin Dan Marino, former Broward County Sheriff and convicted felon Ken Jenne, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and Florida Attorney General candidates Dan Gelber and Pam Bondi have in common? These notable Floridians have unclaimed funds being held by the Bureau of Unclaimed Property in Tallahassee.

Between record unemployment, the growing use of food stamps, emergency cash assistance and government subsidies, Floridians are increasingly turning to the Internet in search of missing or unclaimed property. With over $33 billion in unclaimed funds nationwide, the most popular search terms on Google, Yahoo, Bing (formerly MSN Search and Live Search) and AOL have been "missing money" and "unclaimed funds." Even social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace offer dozens of pages on how to locate missing money.

Since the program's inception in 1961, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property has successfully reunited owners or heirs of deceased owners with more than $1.6 billion in unclaimed property held in Florida. Having hosted 1.5 million visitors on their website while receiving and responding to 96,668 customer service calls, the Bureau processed and paid over $188 million in claims for fiscal year 2009/2010, an increase of almost $15 million over the prior year's record.

Now holding over $1 billion in approximately 9.9 million claimable accounts, unclaimed property originates from dormant accounts in financial institutions, insurance and utility companies, securities and trust holdings. Unclaimed property also includes tangible items such as watches, jewelry, coins, currency, stamps, historical items and other articles from abandoned safe deposit boxes. A recent deposit to the Bureau of Unclaimed Property included $29 million from the FDIC and a record-shattering 153,151 unclaimed accounts following the collapse of Washington Mutual Bank.

CFO Alex Sink reminds Floridians of an interactive claims service making it easier to recover property held in the Bureau of Unclaimed Property. "In these tough economic times it's important that Floridians account for every dollar," said CFO Sink. "I encourage all Floridians to visit our website at www.FLTreasureHunt.org. With nearly nine million accounts, the chances are good we are holding cash or property for you, your business, or someone you know."

Florida is not the only state that has an unclaimed property bureau. Forty states participate in a program endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, an organization that proactively seeks owners of missing and unclaimed property. By visiting www.MissingMoney.com or www.Unclaimed.org an individual can quickly determine whether they are entitled to unclaimed funds. When searching, be sure to check every state that you have resided and under each name you have used. Also search for deceased relatives as heirs are sometimes surprised to learn what has been left behind by the dearly departed.

In just a few seconds one can determine whether they are entitled to missing money or property in Florida. For more information and to check for unclaimed funds, visit the Bureau of Unclaimed Property's website at www.FLTreasureHunt.org or call toll-free 1-88-VALUABLE (888-258-2253). If you find a positive match, an online claims form should be completed, printed, and mailed with supporting documentation for immediate processing. Although there is no statute of limitations on making a claim, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property does not pay interest on accounts.

If you are contacted by search firm advising they have located funds in your name and will process a claim on your behalf, politely decline and search the bureau registry yourself. A word to the wise when searching for unclaimed funds - most states, including Florida - do not charge a fee to recover unclaimed property. There is no reason to pay for something you can do yourself in mere minutes and at zero cost.

William E. Lewis Jr., is a credit repair expert with Credit Restoration Consultants and host of "The Credit Report with Bill Lewis" on AM 1470 WWNN, a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends, and cutting edge issues.