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.
IdentityTheft.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.
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
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.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
In reply to The IRS has information about by FTC Staff
In reply to The IRS has information about by FTC Staff
In reply to How would one know if one's by Cappy
The IRS will mail a letter about the economic impact payment to each person's last known address within 15 days after the payment is paid. The letter will tell you how the payment was made and how to report any failure to receive the payment.If you get a letter and you aren't sure it's legitimate, go to www.irs.gov/coronavirus.
In reply to The IRS will mail a letter by FTC Staff
In reply to Met stimulus payment was by MadysMa
In reply to Did not receive my stimulus by Latoya Williams
In reply to The irs said my check will be by Connieknight65…
In reply to The irs said my check will be by Connieknight65…
In reply to Did not receive my stimulus by Latoya Williams
In reply to Did u get the letter? by Jsmooth
In reply to I still have not got my by Connieknight650
In reply to Did u get the letter? by Jsmooth
In reply to My check was mailed on May by SandiDon't use…
In reply to How did you get in contact by Greenvalley
In reply to I had s friend set up my by Julvettte62
If someone used your personal information to get your benefits, you can report identity theft.
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 filed a Federal tax return - or 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.
In reply to Did u get the letter? by Jsmooth
In reply to Frank Johnson My check was by Frank Johnson 58.
In reply to Same here . Now it is 6/3!! by NannyPDon't us…
In reply to Did u get the letter? by Jsmooth
In reply to Did u get the letter? by Jsmooth
In reply to Met stimulus payment was by MadysMa
In reply to Same problem here now look it by Amber
In reply to Same exact thing happened to by Jay
In reply to Same exact thing happened to by Jay
In reply to Same exact thing happened to by Jay
In reply to Same problem here now look it by Amber
In reply to How did u report it stolen by TRACEE
In reply to Same problem here now look it by Amber
In reply to Yes! It's odd that we all by aberwife
In reply to me same thing, same date! by CalGalNow
In reply to We scheduled your check to be by Dreck
In reply to Yes! It's odd that we all by aberwife
In reply to Met stimulus payment was by MadysMa
In reply to My stimilus check says it was by Ashley 768
In reply to My stimilus check says it was by Ashley 768
In reply to HI, SAME HERE MY DATE SAID by DCROOK1
In reply to Same here. I was told that by JOEL
In reply to Hello I had this same by 1gMilk
In reply to Hello I had this same by 1gMilk
In reply to My stimilus check says it was by Ashley 768
In reply to Call the identity theft by Shie
In reply to My stimilus check says it was by Ashley 768
In reply to Met stimulus payment was by MadysMa
In reply to Met stimulus payment was by MadysMa
In reply to Met stimulus payment was by MadysMa
In reply to The IRS will mail a letter by FTC Staff
In reply to I have received the IRS by Marcus
In reply to The IRS will mail a letter by FTC Staff
In reply to How do I report the failure by Asdfgjkll
Pagination