At last, Congress has finally passed a second bill to help the people who are having financial problems due the pandemic.
Some people will be getting money by check or direct deposit. The timing and details are still to be determined.
As usual, scammers are keeping up on the latest happenings. You need to be on the lookout for them because they’ll steal your stimulus check as quick as they can.
Jennifer Leach, associate director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Consumer and Business Education, offers the following information to help you avoid having your stimulus payment stolen:
- The government won’t ask you to pay anything up front to get this money.
- The government won’t call, text, email, or contact you on social media to ask for your Social Security, bank account, or credit card number.
- There’s no such thing as getting your money early, or faster.
The FTC knows from the early days of the CARES Act that scammers will be using the above items as part of their tactics.
If you talk with someone who says any of these things, you (a) know they’re a scammer; (b) can warn someone you know about the scam, because, chances are, they’ll get that call, text, or email, too; and (c) can tell the FTC so it stop scammers and warn people about them: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
It’s awful that there are so many scammers out there. I think the biggest one is the person who is holding up the bill right now. But, luckily, he’s going away.
Great tips, and hopefully a bill will be passed ASAP.
Good to know, Rita. Thanks for the advice!
I tweeted this helpful post, Rita.
Yes, it’s good to be on the lookout for scammers. They think of new ways every day and put them into effect to get people’s money.