From Scambusters.org: We’ve reported recently on many scams connected with the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, but now we’re warning about just the opposite — something people believe to be a scam but isn’t.
The misunderstanding relates to the issue of stimulus payments by debit cash cards — for those who may not have a bank account or whose account details are unknown to the IRS.
The tax agency apparently is sending out four million of these Visa cards, which some people have apparently mistaken as credit card solicitations and have promptly binned them.
Furthermore, even those who have opened the mailing have been concerned because it comes from what tech site Gizmodo.com refers to as a “sinister sounding” sender “Money Network Cardholder Services” and the card issuer Metabank, rather than the US Treasury or the IRS.
So, if you receive cards bearing this information, it’s legit.
One final warning, however; if you do receive a card and then get a call from someone posing as an IRS official claiming there’s been an error and asking for your card number and PIN, don’t hand over the information.
It’s a scam. So, hang up.
