AMERICANS have been warned about stimulus check scam callers trying to get hold of personal information.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the warning, saying people should be aware fraudsters could rig called ID to look as if the call came from a government hotline.
The FTC said: “Government agencies usually will not call or email you — especially about something related to money.
“They almost always contact you by US mail.”
The IRS is sending letters to US citizens as a confirmation for receiving the check.
Scammers will call saying it is related to an issue over Medicare, Social Security or the stimulus check and ask for personal information to verify.
The FTC added: “If you get a call or email from the IRS or any government agency asking you for personal information or money, that’s a scam. Hang up the phone or delete the email.”
If you have questions about your stimulus check, you can call an IRS hotline at 800-919-9835.
The IRS said earlier this month that 159 million Americans have received a stimulus check.
The IRS is still working on sending out the remaining checks to qualified Americans.
A second round of checks is currently up for debate as part of a $3trillion stimulus package.
The proposed round of checks would give $1,200 to individuals, $2,400 to couples, and $1,200 per child – a bump from the $500 per child in the first round of payments.
More than 1million Americans each week have filed jobless claims, for 13 weeks in a row.
The US is currently seeing a new surge in cases after multiple states failed to contain the virus properly before they reopened.
More than 2.5million US citizens have been officially diagnosed with coronavirus since it first struck in February and over 125,000 people have died from it.
