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Do you think your economic impact payment has landed in the hands of an identity thief? You can report it to the FTC and the IRS at the same time. Here’s what to do.

Visit IdentityTheft.gov, the government’s one-stop resource for people to report identity theft and get a personal recovery plan. Click “Get started.” The next page asks, “Which statement best describes our situation?” Click the line that says, “Someone filed a Federal tax return – or claimed an economic stimulus payment – using my information.” You’re on your way.

Logo: Coronavirus Scams: Tips from the FTCIdentityTheft.gov will ask you some questions so that it can complete an IRS Identity Theft Affidavit (IRS Form 14039) for you, and submit it electronically to the IRS. You can include a personal statement too, to tell the IRS details about how your identity was misused to claim your economic impact payment. You also can download a copy of your completed Affidavit for your files. And, IdentityTheft.gov also will give you a recovery plan with steps you can take to help protect yourself from further identity theft.

Use IdentityTheft.gov to report suspected identity theft only. If you have other concerns about your economic impact payment, visit the IRS’s Economic Impact Payment Information Center and Get My Payment Frequently Asked Questions pages for detailed, and frequently-updated, answers to questions. You also can find information here about payments that the IRS may have deposited to an account you don’t recognize.

Whether you’re waiting for your payment, or even if it’s already arrived, keep alert for scammers trying to steal your personal information, your money, or both. Remember, the IRS will not call, text you, email you, or contact you on social media asking for personal or bank account information – even related to the stimulus payments. Also, watch out for emails and texts with attachments or links claiming to have special information about the payments. They’re fake, and they may be phishing for your personal information or might download malware to your computer, tablet, or phone.

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

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Craig Owens
May 23, 2020
Trying to find out why I haven’t got my stimulus check yet ? it’s been over a month and they send me my submission ID and said I was eligible.
basitamiri
May 23, 2020
What do I do if I had gotten my stimulation check from the mail but I accedintly threw it away in the trash can and now it’s gone
KaylaLock
May 23, 2020
Get my payment says my check was mailed April 24th still haven’t received it or a letter what is the problem?
Steve
May 23, 2020
I'm thrown by your use of the term "Identity Thief". My identity wasn't stolen. Someone walked up to mailbox and took my stimulus check out of it. They may or may not have cashed it. It appears there is no way to know. What do I do now?
Cornerman71
May 23, 2020
I'm on ssi disability, still haven't recieved my stimulus check. I never even got a letter either. Been waiting since April 2020. What do I do or is there anyone to contact.?
FC
May 24, 2020
We got identity theft after we tried to file for taxes.When we go on the site for where is my stimulus check and input our info it says our info doesn’t match your records. Does that mean that someone stole our stimulus check too ? Can the two situations be connected? We later filed for taxes and added the special form due to the identity theft. Once that goes through will that possibly clear out the problem with the stimulus check or the two are not connected? How can we talk to anyone about it ? There is no real representative to talk to about it by phone and no answers for this type of problem online ?
EP1
May 24, 2020
Mine has been saying my check was scheduled to be mailed on 05/01/2020 i never received it. Now the portal has the same message i had in the beginning 2 months ago. It says I'm eligible for the payment but they do not have info for the direct deposit and if i dont have direct deposit it will be mailed. This is the same messaage i got months ago.
needlemgr
May 24, 2020
I receive VA benefits and SSI, the 'get my payment' tool says my stimulus check was mailed on april 24th but i have not received it
Brian Cooney
May 24, 2020
I reported my stolen stimulus check 2 weeks ago, have not received any correspondence back. If the check was cashed, will FTC or IRS make an effort to catch the thief? What am I supposed to do if I hear nothing in next 2 weeks?
Sukhi
May 24, 2020
I received a letter stating that your empact payment has arrived on my old address but I didnt receive the check neither on my old or new address. Probably it was delivered to the old address but i only got the letter. The system shows it is scheduled to be mailed on may 1 which was a month ago. Does this letter state that the check was cashed. How do I know if it was stolen and I have to file with identity theft or its just missing. What should I do now?
Zsucika
May 25, 2020
I got the letter from the white house but haven't received my check on the get my payment it says mail on April 24th and still nothing . Any idea? Am in Brooklyn.
snn
May 25, 2020
got my letter but not my stimulus check what should I do
JR
May 28, 2020

In reply to by snn

Both mine was stolen before ever getting to my locked mailbox. There is no help from anyone. I think it's the mail carriers.
Stimulus Recipients
May 25, 2020
What should the stimulus check recipients do if they never received the check in the mail? The recipients received a letter stating the check was mailed out to them, but never received it. What should the recipient do?
LaurenK
May 25, 2020
I recently receive a letter from the department of treasury with a letter telling me I’m receiving a debit card or check in the mail. I have yet to receive either or. Is it possible it’s lost in the mail or some one has stolen it? How do I find out and/or report it!
MajorM
May 26, 2020
I checked the “Get My Payment” site to find out that my EIP was direct deposited to my bank account on May 6. More than two weeks later I received the White House letter in the mail stating the same. My bank has no record of my deposit two weeks later. Calling the number at the bottom of the letter does no good. Visiting the website does no good. I can’t get a human to find out what the problem is and am extremely frustrated.
joie
May 26, 2020
I had plumbers in my apartment last week. My check was on my bookshelf. Now it is gone. They claim to know nothing. What do I do? Joie
zaeee
May 26, 2020
If I lost my phone that I had connected to my account is there another way I can login to my account or will I have to make a new account?
Keishadena
May 26, 2020
Stimulus checks states it was mailed on April 24th. I never received it I have not been able to contact anyone about this matter.
Satnley Duke
May 26, 2020
I lost my stimulus check. What should I do?
Ramo85
May 26, 2020
Recieved my stimulus check via mail and I miss placed it and can not find it. Not sure if I lost it or someone may have found it. How can I report it to have check cancelled and be reissued another stimulus check ?
Keykey
May 26, 2020
My stimulus check was mailed May 1,2020 I recurved my letter May 15th but never got a check !!! I can’t talk to anyone I don’t know what to do . I’ve call every number I can but everything is automated HELP
lina1109
May 26, 2020
I received my stimulus check. However, long story short I think I threw it away due to a coffee spill incident. I've looked everywhere. I need to know how I go about getting the stimulus check that was mailed to me that I lost, canceled, and issued another one.
LexF7808
May 26, 2020
I checked my economic payment portal and it said the money was deposited into a bank account, I don’t even have a bank account right now. What can I do?
Msgmail2
May 26, 2020
My mail was forwarded to my new address. However, my post office said that the stimulus checks were taken out of circulation and returned to the Treasury Department. The scanned image showed on the Informed Delivery, but I did not receive the check. My other concern is that someone is opening the mailbox where I live and not closing the door. How do I know if it has been sent back to the Treasury Department or stolen? What steps should I take? Or, should I continue to wait?
B35tm3x1c4n
May 29, 2020
Why does on the get my payment it says my check has been mailed to my address but on the refund status it says its still processing which one should i believe
kckool
May 27, 2020
The IRS site shows that my stimulus check was mailed on 5/15 and USPS Informed Delivery shows it in the mail a week ago with a picture but I never received it, but got all other mail. I assume it was stolen I cannot get a human on the phone at the IRS and there is no way to report the check lost/stolen. Please help!
MZ
May 28, 2020

In reply to by kckool

Same here, as I at first suspected somebody stole it from the mailbox before I got to it. The problem with that theory is that most likely a thief in haste would simply grab all the mail at once. Yet the check only was to arrive on a certain date, so how would the thief know unless they were coming every day? Not likely, so I suspect instead that either the post office carrier mis-delivered, or there was some snafu at the distribution centers of the PO or Treasury. Yes, incredibly frustrating that there is absolutely no recourse with e IRS to trace the check, no humans to talk to who know anything, just automated machines that are of no help.Good luck, and be sure to advise our board here if it resolved in your situation, so the rest of us can be re-assured and maybe know what happened. I will do the same.
GSmith
May 27, 2020
Same here in Cali. IRS portal said check was mailed out on May 1. Got a letter from the President saying I received the payment, but no check has arrived. I'm wondering if they're being stolen too.
Michigander
May 27, 2020
We lost our check. Think it went into the recycling bin by mistake. How do we recover a new one?
Help Curious
May 27, 2020
I live in a home where i receive medical treatment along with many other people we receive SSI/SSD but none of us recieved our stimulus check. Our monthly checks go into the homes account and I believe they have all of our deposits for stimulus and are not giving it to us when I ask I am told no one gets a check or deposit. How do I find out if this is true and these people are not stealing everyone's money.
FTC Staff
June 26, 2020

In reply to by Help Curious

People who get Social Security Disability (SSD) and SSI payments are eligible for stimulus payments.

The Social Security Administration a chart showing when the IRS will send stimulus payments to people who get SSD and SSI. 

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities can’t take stimulus check money from residents just because they’re on Medicaid. That's because Congress called the stimulus payments "tax credits" when it passed the CARES Act, and "tax credits" don't count as resources for federal benefit programs like Medicaid. This other blog explains more about what a nursing home can and can't do.

If a home took your stimulus check, contact your state attorney general. This page lists all state attorneys general. Or call the FTC at 1-877-382-4357.

 

Queen
May 27, 2020
In the same boat , get my payment states mailed may 1st , received my trump letter on May 20 saying you should have received check by mail/debit card . My theory and it’s just speaking it into existence.... is that they sent out the checks to the debit card vendor and it’s probably just overloaded with cash waiting to be distributed on the debit card. Has anyone received a debit card from the irs yet ?
Sylvia
May 27, 2020
The IRS website states that my stimulus check was mailed on May 1st to the address on file. I checked w/the manager & occupant of my previous address & nothing yet to this day, May 27th. I sent a letter & another copy of my 2019 tax return to the IRS, which was filed on April 22nd, showing my current address. I also included my bank acct and routing numbers. No response yet. Nothing has gone through social security either. Is anyone looking into this problem?
MZ
May 28, 2020
Me too, my Stimulus Check was sent but lost! Slated for May 1st, the USPS informed delivery shows a picture of my stimulus check in the mail to be delivered May 8th. It never made it! Here are some thoughts how we can all work together on this: First, like all the others, there is absolutely no recourse. Nobody to call, just automated messages, the IRS has no idea, the Post Office will not offer any information. It's ridiculous. It would seem like in an advanced society like ours, you know, Hi Tech, we could call an IRS agent for instance, tell them the check number that was visible in the window of the letter with our name, and that all they'd have to do is search that check number to see if anyone cashed it. But nothing; the check could be lost in the mail, or maybe it was cashed in say, Guatemala. It's just so unbelievably disorganized and frustrating. Possibilities: 1) Maybe crooks stole the check from the mailbox? Well in my case, they would have to have been pretty slick since I gathered my mail soon after it was delivered and like one other poster here, all the other mail was there as per Informed Delivery. If somebody steals a check, they are not likely to search thru 8 letters of mail and only pull the check and leave the rest. They are in a hurry so likely they'd grab everything. Plus one other poster mentioned he also had a missing Stimulus check that should have been in his locked mailbox in a private condominium, Thus I think it is an extremely slim chance somebody stole my check from my mailbox, albeit curbside. 2) These Stimulus checks were mis-delivered by the mail carrier? Well, some chance as that happens a lot, but usually, the mistakes are realized and the mail is re-routed to the correct address. And still nothing after 19 more days! Plus it's a slim chance that someone who received the mis-delivered mail would be a crook who would cash it. Just too slim of a chance, but a maybe. 3) Post office inside job? Well, maybe but I doubt it. Imagine a postal employee stealing gobs of checks. I know it can happen, but it just doesn't make sense, since whoever it might be would almost certainly be caught, and then face serious prison time. 4) So my guess is that there was some kind of routing and sorting problem with some stacks of the presorted Stimulus Checks, maybe starting in Philadelphia (or wherever they originated), Probably some kind of problem with the sorting machines, or maybe some stacks of the letters were temporarily misplaced. Maybe I'm to optimistic, but I don't really see reasonable nefarious activity going on, so my bets are a postal snafu that takes time to resolve. That being said, it would be very helpful here if anybody with lost stimulus checks finally gets them. Let us know, and that would be reassuring for everybody. I will do the same.
Samhickel23
May 29, 2020
An ex boyfriend of mine stole my check out of my mailbox and took it to his exwife who then signed it and cashed it using picture check cashing online I am trying to report it who am I supposed to talk to
FTC Staff
May 29, 2020

In reply to by Samhickel23

If an identity thief got your stimulus payment, report the stolen check and create an IRS affidavit at www.IdentityTheft.gov. Click "Get Started" on the first page. On the next page, click on the green bar that says "someone claimed an economic stimulus payment using my information."

Fill in what you know to create an identity theft report and IRS Identity Theft Affidavit. The system will create a list of steps for what you can do next.

 

Eyekind39
May 28, 2020
I'm filing a complaint because I. On ssi disability and I have twin boys that are 15years old and I didn't receive the extra 500dollars per child and I call the irs and they transferred me to this number8009289835&you cant even speak to a representative &when you go on the web portable to type in your information you cant and then it also says if you get ssi disability that your information or data isn't available yet
Wayne s
May 28, 2020
me and my wife got one check for 1200 and she was supposed to get one in her name for 1200 we file jointly but she does not work. i got the letters in the mail that showed we got 2 checks but only one came. how do i report this and get her check resent . called so many #'s but no one to talk to.
JR
May 28, 2020
I received message on payment portal that my check was scheduled to be delivered may 15th. I never received it in mail. I have a locked box too. I also have informed delivery. On may 27th I got email from informed delivery showing the notice 1444 which is the letter the irs sends after 14 days that tells you they sent your check an for how much. But I did not get it in my mail box that day. It never showed up in my locked mail box like my check. I believe it was stolen sometime in between it leaving the sorting facility and it was supposed to be delivered to my locked mailbox. I tried calling my post office they won't answer phone. I called USPS customer care they said they have no way to track first class mail and they wouldn't be able to help me. I think the mail carrier stole both pieces of mail the check and notice 1444. I can't find a way to report it to anyone. Or get the check cancelled and a new one. What do i do?
ksjohn
May 28, 2020
Per the Irs.gov website my payment was to go out May 4th and I received the letter dated May 8th saying I received a check/ debit card. I assumed that I received the debit card and mistaken it for junk mail and call to report a missing/loss card. They didn’t have anything to report. They directed me to the irs.gov website. Is it something I can do to find where Is my payment ?
Jaj
May 28, 2020
I used the non filer thing to get the stimulus and was given may 4th and the date my check would be mailed. I got notice 1444 a couple days ago but I have not received my check. I have informed delivery and I've checked the IRS online tools. Informed delivery never sent a notification of my check (but I did get it for 2 people who live on my property with me). Informed delivery sent the notification of the 1444 letter. I checked to see if my payment was offset and it wasn't. So my question is should I file the identity theft thing or am I being impatient??
Don't use your…
May 28, 2020
It said my check was mailed on may 8thand on the 25th I got a letter saying it was sent. I never got it what do I do
J808
May 28, 2020
My stimulus check was mailed on the 24th of April and still haven't received it yet.
Acelon
May 28, 2020
How do i get a replacement check if it was lost
alexandleslie3
May 29, 2020
Someone stoles my stimulus check cause I receive my receipt and not my check and I want to report it and track who took it
Sandra in Miss…
May 28, 2020
My stimulus check was sent to my old address on May 1, 2020. I've been checking with the people that live there every since April 30, 2020 and they say it didn't come, but the letter from the IRS stating how much and when was in the mailbox. I don't know who to contract involving this. I hope someone here can help.
MZ
May 28, 2020
From Informed Delivery I saw and screened shot a picture of my stimulus check that was to be delivered May 8th. It never came. But there are numbers on the check. Does anybody know if the IRS can track those numbers with your name to see if anybody else may have cashed that check? It would be nice to know. Assuming someone did, then how about tracking them down? Heck, banks do this, so why can't the federal government of the United States? Of, if nobody cashed it, then at least many of would at least know there is probably some kind of major delay within the workings of the post office that can eventually be resolved so we get our checks and have peace of mind while we wait. Unfortunately there is absolutely no help anywhere, no news, nobody is addressing this, so we are all lost in the dark. I guess just assume it will never come. And the next stimulus check? Maybe it won't either for the same reasons, whatever they are. This is all so bogus.
MZ
May 28, 2020
After posting my last comment, I see that Leo and MG6035 have some very useful information that answer my question. Sounds like there's hope after all, if we're patient.