Found money...what would you do?

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Replies

  • motown13
    motown13 Posts: 688 Member
    OK, so my answer is really more than one answer...

    I was once in a parking lot on a windy day and I saw something on the ground rolling towards me.... it was a roll of money with a rubber band around it. It was $290.... I kept it.... My reasoning was it was in a parking lot, so where would I turn it into? Any of the 300 stores? Somebody else would just take it. I guess I could have given it to a police station, but I bet somebody there would have just taken it too.

    Now, let's say I found a wallet with an ID with $11,000 in it...... no doubt in my mind that I would turn that in or try to get it back to the owner on my own.

    BTW, my wife was once in an airport the day after a Bruce Springsteen concert in Philly..... She found a wallet on the floor, and she opened it up and it was Clarence Clemmons' wallet.... She looked around and actually saw him, and gave it back to him.... According to my wife, he did say Thank You, but was so nonchalant about it that she said it was weird.... Like he said " Oh, thank you.... and then immediately turned away.

    Not that she expected a reward or anything, but just a little more feeling of gratitude from him. She said he seemed like a robot.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    On a girls trip to London about 10 years ago, one of my friends left her purse in a taxi...a lot of cash, all of her credit cards, all her jewelry and passport were in it. It was returned untouched, so I think I'd feel somewhat obligated to do the same for a tourist in our country....even though $11K would sure be a huge help!

    I don't have a history of good luck, but I believe it would be bad karma to keep it...and karma is a ***** :grumble:
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
    I just read about a couple who found a camera bag by the Golden Gate bridge. Inside, along with the camera, was just over $11,000 in cash. The couple turned in the bag and the owners (tourists from out of the country) where found and the money returned. Would you turn it in? Is there an amount that would make you reconsider turning it in?

    I would be tempted to keep it but I know I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did so, yeah, I'd return it.
  • Ivian_
    Ivian_ Posts: 276 Member
    My dad found a gym bag with about $25k in it, as well as other personal belongings, at Wonderland station in MA YEAS ago. He had sat down at a bench and noticed something tucked underneath. When it was obvious it didn't belong to anyone, he grabbed it. At first, he thought it could be an explosive so he was reallllyyy careful in opening it :laugh: That's when he saw the amount of cash inside. There were also shoes, a towel, a walkman (it was YEARS ago), and some other gym stuff but no ID. He didn't feel right keeping it so he sat there, with the bag in his lap, waiting to see if someone would come back for it for hours. Finally some younger looking guy walks up to him, frantic, claiming that was his bag. So my dad asked him to verify what was in the bag, in as much detail as possible and when he did, he handed it over. Apparently there is, or was, a dog track in that area and the guy had won big. My dad said that guy thanked him like a billion times, offered him money, asked to pay his train ticket, offered dinner, even his watch, which was supposedly an expensive one. But my dad declined. He just hopped on the next train and went home.

    My dad is a MUCH better person than me. :laugh:
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    I found $800.00 on the floor of the fast food place where I was working. I was 19 and struggling and very tempted to keep it BUT I turned it in to my boss.. and the owner of the money came for it and was mad because he said he had a grand in there and I must have taken $200. He tried to get me fired for stealing his money... he called the police and everything. No good deed goes unpunished.
  • Return it. Keeping it is theft and I am not that kind of person.

    I agree that turning it in is the right thing to do...

    But how do you figure keeping it is theft? If someone just leaves something lying around, what says i can't pick it up if I want it?

    Because it doesn't belong to you. The local Audi dealership has cars just "lying around" on the lot, and I WANT an A5...can I just go to the dealership and take it?

    If its on their lot, no. If the camera bag was on someone's yard, or in their car, or something like that..you are correct. If it is something lying around in public, with no identifying marks and no way to track it...it is not a crime to take it. At least, not where I live. I was a police officer for 10 years and have been involved in investigations and law enforcement for 15 more, and I cannot think of a single thing you could charge someone with for keeping that bag.
  • Owlie45
    Owlie45 Posts: 806 Member
    Return it. Keeping it is theft and I am not that kind of person.

    I agree that turning it in is the right thing to do...

    But how do you figure keeping it is theft? If someone just leaves something lying around, what says i can't pick it up if I want it?


    Because there's a 30 day wait period while you are trying to find the owner if the people hadn't claimed the money it would then go to who found it. Perfect example are dogs, in the eyes of the law they are property. If you find a dog you ofcourse can hand it over to a shelter, but if you choose to hold on to it. You cannot claim ownership for 30 days. If on day 28 the owner shows up you cant say no. Well you can but cops can be called.
  • christabeltoria
    christabeltoria Posts: 129 Member
    I'd take anything more than a twenty straight to the cops.
  • dferrara
    dferrara Posts: 6 Member
    I have run into this situation before, have always returned the money and have never regretted it. I sleep like a baby at night and I like the person I've become. I've also found that Karma has a way of paying back good deeds 100x over. I've run into a lot of good people in my life who've helped me out when I needed it. I can't conceive of a life lived any other way. I feel sad for the people who would keep the money as a matter of course. You're missing out.
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
    If there was identification of the person that lost it, then I would get a hold of them.

    If not, IT'S MINE
  • Karma is a major b*tch. That being said, I would return it (as I've lost my wallet before and know what it feels like) and if I couldn't, I would donate it to a worthy cause. This has also happened to me before and I've done everything I could to return it, with no thought of any reward in return. Usually, the appreciation was reward enough - and the person typically did give me a few bucks for the effort.
  • Return it. Keeping it is theft and I am not that kind of person.

    I agree that turning it in is the right thing to do...

    But how do you figure keeping it is theft? If someone just leaves something lying around, what says i can't pick it up if I want it?


    Because there's a 30 day wait period while you are trying to find the owner if the people hadn't claimed the money it would then go to who found it. Perfect example are dogs, in the eyes of the law they are property. If you find a dog you ofcourse can hand it over to a shelter, but if you choose to hold on to it. You cannot claim ownership for 30 days. If on day 28 the owner shows up you cant say no. Well you can but cops can be called.

    Here in my county....if the dog is running loose, and the owners are located, they will be charged $500 for allowing said dog to run loose off a leash. True Story.
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    Completely situational for me. If it has the ability to be returned then yes I would, if there wasn't a way to return it then I would probably keep it since I wouldn't have a clue who to give it back to.
  • amandapye78
    amandapye78 Posts: 820 Member
    I would absolutely turn it in. Yes, I would be tempted but I know myself well enough to know I couldn't keep it. If I found a wallet I would turn it in with everything still inside if I just found a 20.00 on the side of the road I would keep it. If I found 100.00 on the side of the road I would keep it but if I found it in a store or something I would turn it in.
  • carriempls
    carriempls Posts: 326 Member
    I'd turn it in.

    I saw $5 hanging out in a snow bank the other day and I left it there, hoping whoever lost it would look for it.
  • harleydall76
    harleydall76 Posts: 586 Member
    Doesn't anyone watch bad '90s TV shows and base their decisions off them?

    Geeze.

    I'd totally return the money ... after I bought a bunch of concert tickets and scalped them, thus doubling my money.

    And shoes.

    Ha! I remember that Saved By The Bell episode!
  • blueeylb
    blueeylb Posts: 297 Member
    i would turn it in. my luck they would b filming a 'what would you do?' show but i will say i would give the police my name and nuber and would be checking in with them and praying for the 30 days. then i will be happy to reclam it if the owners dont pick it up!!
  • I would turn it in for sure. My fiance and I found a wrislet in the city one time and I didn't even have the guts to use part of the girls $39 cash it had in it to ship it back to her, so I paid for the over-night shipping fee. I'm pathetic ;)
  • Owlie45
    Owlie45 Posts: 806 Member
    Return it. Keeping it is theft and I am not that kind of person.

    I agree that turning it in is the right thing to do...

    But how do you figure keeping it is theft? If someone just leaves something lying around, what says i can't pick it up if I want it?


    Because there's a 30 day wait period while you are trying to find the owner if the people hadn't claimed the money it would then go to who found it. Perfect example are dogs, in the eyes of the law they are property. If you find a dog you ofcourse can hand it over to a shelter, but if you choose to hold on to it. You cannot claim ownership for 30 days. If on day 28 the owner shows up you cant say no. Well you can but cops can be called.

    Here in my county....if the dog is running loose, and the owners are located, they will be charged $500 for allowing said dog to run loose off a leash. True Story.

    If found by animal control, same here. Otherwise its returned.
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    I'd turn it into the police station, regardless of whether or not there was any identification on it.

    Not because I'd be looking for a reward, or because I'd be afraid of being charged with a crime, but because I'd hope someone would do the same for me.

    Now....chump change lying on the street? Yea, that's mine.
  • I found a purse once, in a store. I turned it in to customer service so they could find who it belonged to. They called her name and she came running, in tears, and grabbed me for a big hug. She had all of her Christmas money in there, to shop for her family. She tried to offer me a reward, but I told her "I just hope that someone would do the same for me in this situation." I know how out of my mind I would be if I had lost my own purse, it has my life in there!! But, if I were to find a unmarked bag of cash, with no identification....I might just have to hang on to it for safe keeping....:tongue:
  • donna_glasgow
    donna_glasgow Posts: 869 Member
    If it had the owner's info in it, I'd return it. I'm not stinking rich, but I'm not hurting either. If it were me, the camera is what I would miss the most. The first time I went to the Bahamas (1986), I had a 35mm camera. Took a bunch of pictures during the cruise and while on the island. The night before we got back to port, we were at a magic show on the ship, and when it was over, we headed out and I forgot my camera bag on the table. There was about $200 in the bag, but more importantly, the camera and all the film. In the 90 or so seconds that it took me to realize that I left it on the table, someone swiped it. I was yelling out, "Look, I don't care about the money, or the camera. I just want the film!" Kept yelling out my stateroom number and asking for the person to just leave the film outside the door, but no one ever did. Almost 30 years later, I'm still pi$$ed that I don't have any pictures from that trip.

    So yeah, I'd return it.

    I lost a camera when on holiday .. we had been sitting on the grass and I jumped up to run after one of the kids who was getting too far away, when I came back my camera was gone but the chip was sitting on the grass where we had been sitting ... weird, but i couldn't thank them enough as the film was the important thing ...:)
  • AlbaAngel25
    AlbaAngel25 Posts: 484 Member
    my hubby once found 1100 bucks(rolled) in a NYC cab... the money was stuck in-between the seats. Obviously, not the cab drivers. My husband -incognito- picked up the cash and counted it after he got out... !


    I would have to say the same as a lot of people have already. If it had I.D. and all that, you have to return that kinda money... thats half of someone's yearly wages to some ppl.... but, if there was no I.D. or anything, i would probably keep it.
  • Lovlilyn
    Lovlilyn Posts: 79 Member
    I would turn it in.

    I found money on the floor of Kohls, and I brought it to Customer Service. They said they would keep if for a month, and if no one claimed it, I could keep it. I believe in the principle of Karma. I did check back after a month, and no one had claimed the money ($80), so I took it.

    I also found $40 on the ground when I parked at work. I left a note on the car next to me that I may have found something that fell out of the car. At first, the guy didn't think it was his, but then his wife mentioned that she had left cash in his side pocket. So, I returned that as well. I like to think it's prevented me from losing cash or that someone would return my cash.
  • brevislux
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
    Of course I will.

    I find it impossible to take something that isn't mine. I work at a book publishing house and I absolutely love the books. Other workers told me I can just take some books home and keep them, but I'm just incapable of doing that and I pay for them. What can you do.
  • Owlie45
    Owlie45 Posts: 806 Member
    And people wonder why I don't like people.
  • mrandolph69
    mrandolph69 Posts: 197 Member
    I would turn it in and no, there would be no amount that I would consider keeping.

    I haven't read all of the responses but, in case someone has not mentioned it, keeping the money could be an illegal act. Here in Georgia, there is a statute governing such a situation. Keeping the money could be what Georgia calls "theft of lost or mislaid property." I say "could" because the law requires one to take reasonable steps to return the money. What is or is not "reasonable" obviously varies with the situation. Money found with no way of returning it to the owner would require little to no effort. Money where there is ID with it would certainly require it to be turned in to the police at a minimum. The big problem is that the judge of whether your efforts were reasonable or not would be a judge or jury (assuming you got caught, of course.)
  • horsewhisper91
    horsewhisper91 Posts: 456 Member
    I remember when I was in elementary school and out at recess with a few friends back maybe 2nd grade or something...I found a dollar blowing around. Maybe it was just the way I was raised, but I turned the dollar into the school office to see if anyone would claim it. Turned out after a few days or something no one did and office gave me the dollar to keep since no one claimed it.

    Even today with my troubles and how times are...I still would try and return the money. I many have troubles, but I don't find it right living off of someone else's money even if they aren't thankfully you return it.
  • Erindipitous
    Erindipitous Posts: 1,234 Member
    Quite honestly, if it didn't have a camera in it, I'd think it was drug/ransom money that I accidentally stumbled upon.. Dumb and Dumber and the suitcase, anyone?

    But yeah, I'd probably look through the camera's pictures to identify the owners, if possible, and hang out for awhile to see if they came back looking for it.. Then I'd turn it in.

    I've found a couple of wallets in my life, and I had done the same thing (checked identification, etc) before tracking down the owner. I had lost a wallet once on campus when I was in college and received a call from the security office before the end of my last night class. Janitor found it in a trashcan (freshly tossed, apparently). Money was gone (figures I had a lot in there for whatever reason). I was so angry and wished other people could be honest.. I couldn't live with myself if I kept it. Even though $11k would truly flip my whole life around at this point.
  • motown13
    motown13 Posts: 688 Member
    I would turn it in and no, there would be no amount that I would consider keeping.

    Well, I doubt that.... you find a $5 bill on the street and you're going to make an effort to get it back to the person who lost it?