How to avoid stimulus check fraud designed to steal your payment
If Congressional Democrats and Republicans reach an agreement on the next stimulus package by the end of Aug. 7 -- that's today -- the first batch of stimulus checks could be in the mail as soon as the week of Aug. 17.
Even amid a global pandemic, criminals don't take a break. Scammers can take advantage of any vulnerability, including a public health crisis, to lure unsuspecting people into phishing scams and mobile malware traps. Hackers can even pose as government officials to present misinformation and trick people into downloading malicious items that put their sensitive information at risk.
Here are some tips you can use to guard against scammers grabbing your economic stimulus payment -- and what to do if you think you've been scammed. We've drawn from the IRS website's official guidance on avoiding economic impact payment schemes.
Stimulus check scams to look out for
If you're asked to verify or provide financial information by phone, email or text to speed up the delivery of your payment. The IRS won't call or email you to verify your information, according to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. Only use this IRS web page to submit information to the IRS.
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