People are scrambling across American cities to find wads of cash dropped in various locations, such as candy bags, envelopes, key locks, takeout boxes, paint cans or covering items like basketballs and footballs. Cash drop accounts have proliferated on social media sites, sending people running in cities across the country chasing money left in unconventional places.

Cash drop accounts are tied to large national networks and sometimes promote local businesses or promotions. The cash drops can lead to various revenue streams for the accounts, including marketing and first-party data like names and emails of interested individuals. Some accounts generate revenue from platforms such as Facebook and YouTube through views garnered by their videos. Cash drop accounts with large followings are often anonymous but maintain a strong presence on social media sites.

The cash drops have become part of a larger cultural moment amid growing inflation and economic uncertainty, providing people with unexpected windfalls during challenging times. The model has proven successful for companies like PassPass, which built an app around the cash drop experience to generate additional revenue streams through free arcade games and paid subscriber access to bonus entries for giveaways and travel deals.

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