6 Steps to Keep Safe With a New Wave of Stimulus Checks

Looking for your stimulus check from the IRS?

The IRS is working to get millions of Economic Impact  Payments (EIP) processed in the days and weeks to come. If you have provided the IRS with your direct deposit information, rest assured, Regions will process your payment when it is received and will be available based upon the effective date set by the IRS.

Track the IRS’ progress of your EIP payment here. You can learn more about the IRS’ timing of payments at this link.

And you can check your payment status here.

Unfortunately, with a new wave of help coming, there are fraudsters working hard to take your money. To avoid being scammed, consider these suggestions to protect yourself from those saying they can “help you out:”

1. Hang up. Don’t reply. The IRS, Treasury Department or other government agencies will not call, email or text message people to collect account information, Social Security numbers or credit card information. Anyone who does is likely a scammer.
2. Do not pay anyone offering to get your stimulus funds early or sell you additional stimulus checks.
3. Enroll in your bank’s or credit card company’s online and mobile applications to monitor your account activity frequently, looking for suspicious activity.
4. Avoid clicking on unknown links, which may expose you to viruses or malware.
5. While online, verify the legitimacy of websites you visit.
   • Turn on browser tools, which can help identify fraudulent websites
   • Ensure the websites are secure and encrypted with HTTPS.
   • Look for links that are broken or take you away from the original website.
   • Shop through websites you know and trust.
6. As always, slow down, verify, and verify again the legitimacy of financial transactions before approving. Look for changes to account numbers, phone numbers, email addresses or other identifying information.

Since the first EIP payments were announced a year ago, Regions and leading financial institutions have seen a spike in fraud.

If you become a victim of EIP payment fraud, take these steps:

• Contact your bank to lock down the account to mitigate additional harm. The bank’s fraud team may be able to use the information to detect patterns and help save other customers.
• If the scam is internet based, report it through the FBI’s IC3 page
• If the scam is mail based, contact the U.S. Postal Inspector. And if the check is stolen, contact the U.S. Secret Service.

The information presented is general in nature and should not be considered, legal, accounting or tax advice. Regions reminds its customers that they should be vigilant about fraud and security and that they are responsible for taking action to protect their computer systems. Fraud prevention requires a continuous review of your policies and practices, as the threat evolves daily. There is no guarantee that all fraudulent transactions will be prevented or that related financial losses will not occur. Visit regions.com/STOPFRAUD or speak with your Banker for further information on how you can help prevent fraud.