Absolutely unbelievable .... government doing it just because they can .... no better than street gangs.

How does something become abandoned just because there is no activity with the box? It's still under someone's name in the bank. This is absolutey absurd.

That's like saying that because I have 10,00 in my checking account, and don't have any activity for 3 or more years, that it's now abandoned and they can take it.   Unbelievable. If I didn't know any better, I would think I'm dreaming.

I saw this on tv yesterday, and I couldn't believe it!!! I was one of those people who thought your valuables were safe in the safe deposit box. Well, I don't have one, and won't ever get one after looking at this!!!

So horrible. I never thought that just anyone could get into your safe deposit box. Well, I now will never get one. At least in the US.

I wasn't going to post, but since everyone is saying "I won't get a safe deposit box" because of this investigative report, I am going to add my 2 cents. First, this video is only a few minutes. Read the entire article. Also, consider the source. These TV programs wouldn't exist if they couldn't dig up material to air. I mean, cars blow up, but you still drive one. People choke at restaurants all the time, but you still go out to dinner. Hospitals & doctors kill people everyday, but where are you going to go if you get sick? If you have important papers and keep them under your mattress, you are probably taking a bigger risk.

IMO this isn't a banking problem, it's a state government problem and mostly in the State of CA. Pure greed. They seize a heck of a lot more than just safe deposit boxes too.   Here is the article from ABC.   http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4832471&page=1
The woman with the box at BoA sued BoA and they settled. She had an account there, so BoA was probably at fault. I say "probably" because ABC said this: "Plus she has receipts showing she's the kind of person who paid her box rental fee." Notice the wording? She either paid her box rent or she didn't. Why don't they say she had receipts? "But officer, I'm the kind of person who would never run a red light." A state is only notified after many years of inactivity with the bank. Pac, maybe I misunderstood you, but you can't just put money in a bank and disappear for 10 years. You always need to provide current contact information like a mailing address. I mean, if I open up a 10 year CD and never touch it, I still need to report the interest on my tax return. Unfortunately, Pac, you do need to watch your accounts because of the thieves in our government, but I don't know why anyone would put $10,000 in a checking account & leave it there in the first place.

Scary, nobody can get into your safe deposit box, not even the bank. That's why they showed a locksmith drilling into one in the video. If you lose your key, they need to get a locksmith.   

I don't like BoA at all. You can bank there for years and they still don't know you or care. There are many small banks that offer personal service or if you have a relationship with a private bank, I doubt if it would report your account to the government without going out of its way to locate you. Yes, I think it's criminal that some states are getting too aggressive & stealing from its own citizens. Still, like anything else in life, whether it's your car payment or mortgage/rent, if you keep your records up-to-date, then there's probably nothing to worry about. The situation with Mrs. Ruff was a fluke because there are millions of people with safe deposit boxes and BoA was totally at fault, which is why she won her lawsuit. Just don't open up a bank account or get a safe deposit box and disappear for years. Sorry I sound critical, but I'm chuckling because this is a board where people are put down for losing lottery tickets and not checking them, etc., so it sounds as if checking your lottery tickets is much more important than checking your bank account regularly.