US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin shows US President Donald Trump a pre-paid debit card during a … [+]
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I just got a call from someone who received a mysterious debit card in the mail. It purports to be their Economic Impact Payment, but it is pretty suspicious. It doesn’t say how much and they have to make a phone call to activate the card. Well, unless the fraudsters are really working fast, the good news is that, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, the debit card is legit.
This is from IRS.gov:
WASHINGTON – As Economic Impact Payments continue to be successfully delivered, the Internal Revenue Service today reminds taxpayers that some payments are being sent by prepaid debit card. The debit cards arrive in a plain envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services.”
Nearly 4 million people are being sent their Economic Impact Payment by prepaid debit card, instead of paper check. The determination of which taxpayers received a debit card was made by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a part of the Treasury Department that works with the IRS to handle distribution of the payments.
Those who receive their Economic Impact Payment by prepaid debit card can do the following without any fees.
- Make purchases online and at any retail location where Visa is accepted
- Get cash from in-network ATMs
- Transfer funds to their personal bank account
- Check their card balance online, by mobile app or by phone
This free, prepaid card also provides consumer protections available to traditional bank account owners, including protection against fraud, loss and other errors.
The Drill
My source called the number as directed. She had to enter the card number and six of digits from her social security number. Then she was told the balance. There is a website you are directed to (eipcard.com) where the Money Network tells you how to use your card.
You have to go to FAQ and scroll down just a bit to get to “Can I transfer funds from my EIP Card to my bank account?”. That would be my first choice, but Money Network probably wants to hang onto your business if they can. I’m such a cynical bastard.
Other Coverage
There actually is a lot of other coverage on this including a warning from Kelly Erb to not mistake the card for junk mail. I refrain from jumping in when I don’t have something to add, but this message merits repetition.
And I am also giving you a professional secret. The way I got the answer was by going to irs.gov and searching “debit card”. Official IRS information is not always the last word, but when it comes to something administrative like this, it is really the first place to look. You can pretty well count on forbes.com to not be far behind.
I do have to wonder how it is that Money Network was selected to get nearly four million new accounts. I’m going to work on that, but no promises that I will get to the bottom of it.