SAN ANTONIO – When Joe Williamson of San Antonio got a blank envelope in the mail, he thought it was junk and almost threw it away.
“It ended up being a card with a computer chip and it had my name on it and the number and I said, 'Wow, this is different,” Williamson said.
The debit card was real.
“It ended up being the stimulus money,” Williamson said.
The IRS said some payments may be sent on a prepaid debit card known as the Economic Impact Payment Card.
Still haven’t gotten your stimulus check? Some things you can check on in the meantime
The card will arrive in a plain envelope from Money Network Cardholder Services. Some other things to look out for is your name and on the back of the card the name of MetaBank, which is the bank issuing the card. There will also be information included with the card.
“We’ve seen a lot of calls come through saying, ‘Is this legitimate? Is it real?’” said Jason Meza, regional director of the Better Business Bureau.
Meza said because the debit card is new, it can open the door for scammers.
“We see many opportunities for scammers. They will take advantage of a situation and they’ll seize the opportunity to mimic the card or mimic the wording and try to send out emails or texts saying activate your card here,” Meza said.
If you have doubts about a card you receive, call the IRS.
For more information about the card, click here.