The Federal Trade Commission's Response about Checks from the Government
Protect yourself against scammers taking advantage of the government check announcement.
Posted in Coronavirus on Monday, March 23, 2020
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 essential things to know.
- The government will not ask you to pay anything up front to get this money. There will be no fees or charges.
- The government will not call to ask for your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer.
- These reports of checks aren’t yet a reality. Anyone who tells you they can get you the money now is a scammer.
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 want to get ahead of the scammers who will no doubt be taking advantage of this.
Remember: No matter what this payment window looks like, only scammers will ask you to pay to access these funds. If you spot one of these scams, please notify the Federal Trade Commission: ftc.gov/complaint.
Stay current with other potential Coronavirus-related scams at ftc.gov/coronavirus or by signing up to receive consumer alerts.