As the Coronavirus takes a growing toll on people’s pocketbooks, there are reports that the government will soon be sending money by check or direct deposit to each of us. The details are still being worked out, but there are a few really important things to know, no matter what this looks like.
1. The government will not ask you to pay anything up front to get this money. No fees. No charges. No nothing.
2. The government will not call to ask for your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer.
3. These reports of checks aren’t yet a reality. Anyone who tells you they can get you the money now is a scammer.
Look, normally we’d wait to know what the payment plan looks like before we put out a message like this. But these aren’t normal times. And we predict that the scammers are gearing up to take advantage of this.
So, remember: no matter what this payment winds up being, only scammers will ask you to pay to get it. If you spot one of these scams, please tell the Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/complaint. We’re doing our best to stop these scammers in their tracks, and your report will help.
Keep up to date with the latest Coronavirus-related scams at www.ftc.gov/coronavirus or by signing up to get these consumer alerts.
Watch these videos for more tips on how to avoid ecomonic impact payment scams:
Updated link added on April 21, 2020.
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 My husband owes back child by Will I lose out
In reply to I get veterans disability. by Don't use your…
In reply to Will my stimulus check come by Scotty 81
In reply to Will my stimulus check come by Scotty 81
In reply to Will my stimulus check come by Scotty 81
In reply to Will my stimulus check come by Scotty 81
In reply to Will my stimulus check come by Scotty 81
In reply to Will my stimulus check come by Scotty 81
In reply to will the retired seniors by pebbles1359
The IRS says it will use the information from the SSA-1099 to make payments to people who get benefits that are shown on the SSA-1099. That includes older adults who get Social Security payments
Please go to the IRS page about economic impact payments for official updates and more information about who is eligible.
In reply to I get $783.00 on disability i by Jessica Jones
In reply to will the stimulus check be by simplelovingman
In reply to will the stimulus check be by simplelovingman
In reply to My mom is my payee and my ssi by Star
In reply to Is it possible to get an by Lucy
Please go to irs.gov/coronavirus for updates and information about who is eligible for a payment.
In reply to If our Social Security checks by Bjrm
In reply to I only receive general relief by Lowerytolino2
Please go to the IRS page about economic impact payments for official updates and more information about who is eligible.
Pagination