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JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- As the holidays quickly approach, Mid-Missourians are trying to find just the right gift.

But for many gift cards can make the joy of giving a little more convenient.

Have you ever lost a gift card or gotten rid of it when the balance is only change?

"I get down to an amount on a card where I don't think I'm going to use it and I basically just throw it away," shopper Scott Bledsoe said.

But Missouri's state treasurer Clint Zweifel said not so fast...

"It's our belief that unclaimed property, whether would be a safe deposit box or a bank account or a savings account or a gift card should be treated the same and that is ultimately that it's taxpayers money and those consumers should be protected in the process," Zweifel said.

Retailers are required to turn over any remaining value to the treasurer after five years even if the card has expired.

Cooperation from retailers is key.

"When there is compliance we have the ability to get that money back to consumers," Zweifel said.

However, not all of the cash goes back into the pockets of Missourians.

By state law a certain amount is shifted each year into general revenue, an amount Zweifel said is a formula the legislature sets.

But for many finding the extra cash isn't that easy.

Most stores don't record your information when buying a gift card so it's up to you to hold onto the card's rundown.

"The best way to protect yourself is to not lose the card in the first place but if you plan on holding onto it for a while going forward, make a copy of the card so you have an account number to reference," Zweifel said.

The website www.ShowMeMoney.com allows Missourians to search by their last name to find their unclaimed property.

Mid-Missouri consumers now say they'll pay closer attention to what they do with their cards.

"I'd be a little bit more apt to hold onto it, even a small amount, because anymore, a dollar's a dollar and i mean it doesn't take anything to get online and check unclaimed property," Bledsoe said.

Since January, the State Treasury Department returned $60,000 from gift cards to Missourians.

Because the treasury doesn't have a list of names for the cardholders, it is up to the person that bought or used the card to keep the card's information is a safe place in order to redeem the leftover amount on the card.

Zweifel said there is still more than $5 million in gift card money waiting for owners to claim.