Local artist Cathy Harris is warning other people to be cautious about throwing away a debit card for the $600 coronavirus stimulus check from the federal government. She nearly discarded their card because she thought it was either junk mail or a scam.
“Back in January when everyone was getting their checks, we received what I thought was a credit card offer,” Harris said. “I flipped it over and the first thing it said on the top was something about fees. I tossed it on the desk. When we didn’t receive any stimulus check or deposit, the credit card was in the back of my mind. I decided to go ahead and activate it, and sure enough, there was $1,200 on it, $600 for me and $600 for my husband, J.D. I had no notice that was the way we were getting paid. We don’t watch the news. I didn’t know if anyone else mistakenly thought it was a credit card office.”
Harris has been hearing other people state they haven’t received their stimulus checks.
“I wonder if they threw it away,” she said. “I was lucky I actually even opened it. There is so much fraud out there constantly. But when we didn’t get any money, then I read more closely that the fees were potential charges for withdrawing the money from an ATM.”
Harris said their first stimulus check arrived as a check, and she isn’t sure why the government decided to use a debit card this time. She hasn’t found the debit card harder to use.
“If it went into my account, I would feel like I had more money,” Harris said. “But this makes me feel like I’m spending free money.”
People who still haven’t received their stimulus check can go online at irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment. Fill in your name, Social Security number and birthdate to get an update.
The IRS says both U.S. citizens and resident aliens may be eligible for $600 for adults and $600 for each qualifying child if you aren’t a dependent of another taxpayer on a 2019 tax return, have a Social Security number valid for employment and your annual adjusted gross income does not exceed $150,000 if married and filing a joint return or if filing as a qualifying widow or widower; $112,500 if filing as head of household; or $75,000 for eligible individuals using any other filing status.
The IRS said people don’t need to take any action to get their payments. The IRS and Treasury have issued all first and second Economic Impact Payments. If you didn’t get any Economic Impact Payments or got less than the full amounts, the IRS said you may qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim the credit even if you don’t normally file.
For more information, go online to irs.gov/newsroom/irs-statement-update-on-economic-impact-payments and irs.gov/coronavirus/second-eip-faqs.