A viral image shared on social media claims to show a fake stimulus check delivered by mail ( here , here ). The image shows a white envelope with a postage stamp from Santa Ana, California. Through the envelope, it is possible to read the words “Credit Stimulus Department” and “Funds Disbursement” on the contents of the delivery.
The image is accompanied by text that reads, “A local mail carrier just posted this…she is delivering these and the main people are senior citizens. THIS IS NOT a stimulus check. Please beware of this and let your friends and family know. Do not deposit this!”
The claim comes amid the news that this month, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began depositing payments, approved as part of a $2.3 trillion Congressional relief package, ( here ). The IRS may reportedly have to issue as many as 70 million paper checks to Americans for whom it has no account data, including several million who do not have a bank account.
The claim on social media calling out these letters as fake, is true.
The “Credit Stimulus Department” listed on the letters is not a U.S. government department.
Recently, the U.S. Secret Service released a sample version of the paper stimulus check “to deter counterfeiters by showing consumers, retailers and financial institutions what a genuine check looks like, describing the watermark paper and other security features”, AAARP—a U.S. interest-group for retired individuals—reports ( here ). The Secret Service points to six security features that authentic stimulus checks will show: a Treasury seal, bleeding security ink if moisture is applied to the seal, microprinted words that are impossible to duplicate on a copier, a watermark that reads “U.S. Treasury”, ultra-violet overprinting, and the President’s name.
The IRS has also released warnings about “Coronavirus-related scams” and schemes tied to “economic impact payments”, saying retirees are among the potential targets, ( here ). Among the list of warnings, the IRS notes that taxpayers should be weary of scammers mailing “the taxpayer a bogus check, perhaps in an odd amount, then tell the taxpayer to call a number or verify information online in order to cash it.”
This week, The New York Times reported on a wave of scammers using people’s Social Security numbers to “assume their identities and bilk them out of their stimulus checks and unemployment benefits.” ( here ).
VERDICT
True: Image shared on social media shows bogus stimulus check amid the Treasury’s efforts to deliver economic support payments under a $2.3 trillion federal coronavirus relief package.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
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