Not a scam: Watch for stimulus debit cards in the mail

The Treasury Department has mailed nearly 4 million economic impact payments to Americans via a prepaid debit card.

“Prepaid debit cards are secure, easy to use, and allow us to deliver Americans their money quickly,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.

But some receiving the cards were skeptical they were real.

Laura Irrera-Hahn hadn’t heard stimulus checks were being sent by debit card. When the prepaid card arrived in a plain envelope in the mail, she thought it was a scam.

“When we did get it, it seemed a little odd,” Irrera-Hahn said. “My name was correct but my husband's name was not.”

She and her husband had never heard of Meta Bank.

The financial institution was selected as the Treasury’s financial agent for the U.S. Debit Card program in 2016.

When they tried to call Meta Bank, they couldn’t get through to speak with a person and the voicemail was full.

“It’s a recording and they want the last six digits of your social security number,” Irrera-Hahn said. “We hung up.”

The debit cards can be used to make purchases, get cash from in-network ATMs and transfer funds to your bank without a fee.

Stimulus checks are still being sent through direct deposit to those with banking information on file with the IRS.

The treasury department sent the debit cards to anyone eligible without banking information on file with the IRS instead of paper checks.

The debit cards arrive in a plain envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services.” The Visa debit card will be issued from Meta Bank and comes with a welcome sheet with information to help you verify the card is real.

You can find more information at: https://www.eipcard.com/