Stimulus Money Cards Accidentally Being Thrown Away – People Think They’re Junk Mail

Montgomery County District Attorney's Office / Facebook

Americans who do not have bank accounts and are eligible for stimulus payments from the United States government are being mailed prepaid debit cards with the funds on them. The only problem is, some folks are mistaking them for fake credit cards banks send to people and are throwing them in the trash. 

“I had not heard of this but I just got my covid stimulus money via a debit card? I was hella suspicious at first cause I knew nothing about this but I researched it and it’s legit… and it actually has money on it,” NBC News reported valerieflames tweeting.

One of the reasons why people are throwing them away is because the cards come in an all-white envelope that just says “Money Network Cardholder Services” with no federal markings indicating it’s from the government.

Many Americans have received their money by direct deposit and by a paper check in the mail, however, almost four million people have not received their money yet and are expected to get it via these prepaid debit cards.

Bonnie Moore of Florida told WINK-TV: “My husband looked at it, briefly read it, and he said, ‘Do you want this?’ And I said, ‘I don’t need another fake card,’ so he cut it up in little pieces. The next thing you see is I am in the garbage can trying to pull out all of the pieces together, which did not work.”

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So if you are eligible for coronavirus stimulus payments and have not received your money yet, make sure you are not accidentally throwing it in the trash. Some of these cards have as much as $3,400 on them and the last thing a family needs is their COVID-19 funds in the garbage.

The IRS said that the cards will have the Visa logo on them and will be issued by MetaBank. There will also be a letter in the envelope that says that they’re from the Economic Impact Payment Card. You can view more facts about the cards by clicking here.

You can activate your card and set your PIN by calling 1-800-240-8100 and verifying your identity. The IRS also recommends you sign the back of your card. For more information on how to start using it, you can click here.