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Your employees, friends, and clients might not have received their stimulus checks yet. And they may not ever get checks — instead, they might get a prepaid debit card. The U.S. Department of the Treasury is currently mailing Economic Impact Payments (EIP) in the form of prepaid debit cards.
However, the Better Business Bureau reports that consumers are contacting its offices thinking the debit cards are a scam. Although the cards are accompanied by a letter with a Department of Treasury seal, some find the debit card format sketchy. But it's for real.
"EIP Cards are being distributed to qualified individuals without bank information on file with the IRS, and whose tax return was processed by either the Andover or Austin IRS Service Center. Treasury's financial agent, MetaBank, will mail EIP Cards to eligible recipients beginning this week. Each mailing will include instructions on how to activate and use the card," a press release dated May 18, 2020 explains at the Treasury website.
The BBB, of course, says that being on the lookout for scams is not a bad idea, especially these days when there are many COVID-19 related scams circulating. Here are its tips for how to recognize a legitimate EIP card:
- It will arrive in a plain envelope with the return address of "Money Network Cardholder Services."
- The Visa name will appear on the front of the card; the back of the card has the name of the issuing bank, MetaBank, N.A.
- The welcome kit explains more about the EIP card. Go to EIPcard.com for more information and to see a sample image of the card.
Money Network, which is handling the debit cards, has an FAQ page that seems to answer just about any question someone could come up with, including whether there are any restrictions on spending and whether the U.S. Treasury is watching how it's spent.
Those who have not received their Economic Impact Payment can track funds using the IRS webpage Get My Payment tracking tool (https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment).
The Better Business Bureau also offers Tips on Economic Impact Payments and a page to report scams.
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