The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection is reminding all Americans how to identify and report phishing and other scams related to your Economic Impact Payment. According to the FTC the following guidelines will help you to avoid becoming the victim of fraud:
1. Only use the IRS Economic Impact Payment website to submit your information to the IRS—and never provide information in response to a call, text, or email.
2. The IRS will NOT contact you by telephone, email, text, or via social media with information about your Economic Impact Payment. The IRS will also NEVER ask you for your Social Security number, bank account number, or government debit card account number. Anyone requesting this information from you is conducting a phishing scam.
3. No one is required to pay anything (not back taxes, fees, etc.) to receive your Economic Impact Payment. Your Economic Impact Payment is NOT income. It is NOT taxable and it will NOT reduce your refund or increase the amount you owe when you file taxes next year.
4. And finally, the IRS will NOT contact you asking you to deposit your Economic Impact Payment check and then request that you send them money back because they paid you more than they owed you. This is what is known as a fake check scam.
To report a scam, please visit the FTC’s Complaint Assistant webpage. To stay up to date with the latest scams and developments, you can enter your email address at FTC Consumer Alerts.
For answers to any additional questions you might have on the Economic Impact Payment, please visit the IRS payment information center or Community Action’s dedicated webpage.
