When Vicki Wade got her economic impact payment in the mail, she thought it was a scam or at the very least – junk mail.
A recent press release on the Treasury’s website said, “Treasury and the IRS are starting to send nearly 4 million Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) by prepaid debit card, instead of by paper check.”
Photo: Pxfuel
Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin talked about the switch being made from a paper check to a debit card.
In the press release, he said:
“Treasury and the IRS have been working with unprecedented speed to issue Economic Impact Payments to American families. Prepaid debit cards are secure, easy to use, and allow us to deliver Americans their money quickly.”
The entire process sounds pretty good, despite having to wait months for the stimulus money. However, the new system doesn’t come without it’s flaws. As Vicki Wade from Texas found out first hand.
sample look at a stimulus payment debit card
When Wade got her economic impact payment in the mail, she nearly tossed the envelope out. It wasn’t until she saw a post on Facebook about a woman who actually did throw hers out, that she realized it wasn’t a scam or junk mail.
The envelope wasn’t marked as coming from the IRS or the Treasury and she didn’t recognize the return address. She did call to activate the card and was asked to give the last four digits of her Social Security number. This threw up another red flag!
When Wade talked to a local news station, they did some investigating and found out that it was a legitimate card.
You can call 1-800-240-8100 to learn more about getting a replacement card if you feel that you may have thrown yours away.