Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Payment Not Coming In These Circumstances

Many Americans have been eager for the possibility of another stimulus check from the government as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to drive a surge in cases and fears of potential forced shutdowns once again. However, unless they already knew of certain payments coming from other federal aid programs or state aid, those who think they’re getting more money could be in for a rude awakening, as a rise in scams regarding stimulus checks have been leading many on.

After a prank in July which stated the government would be sending $2,500 payments, another rumor surfaced in August which suggested $7,000 payments could be going out, leading to many doing searches on Google to see if such checks were being deposited. These may not have been the only scams, however, as the Internal Revenue Service has seen a surge in reported scams, according to The Hill.

The IRS reported a record number of reports about such scams in June and July, which led to the agency urging Americans to be wary of such phishing scams.

“Even though taxpayers have received multiple rounds of Economic Impact Payments, we saw phishing scams surge this summer,” Jim Lee, chief of the criminal investigation division, said. “The number of reported scam attempts reached levels we haven’t seen in more than a decade. More than ever, it is important for taxpayers to continue to protect their personal information and not fall victim to these scams.”

Scams included text messages and emails, which all asked people to share personal information in order to receive payments. To date, the only official stimulus checks from the IRS were the three checks that were either directly deposited into accounts or provided via paper checks in March 2020, December 2020 and March 2021.

However, while scams may have been on the rise and extra money isn’t coming through any of those communications, not everyone is losing out on a little extra economic assistance.

In addition to assistance to renters, an additional forbearance on federal student loan payments and the Expanded Child Tax Credit, which all provide assistance through the federal government, several states are also providing some form of extra payments to residents. In California, for example, residents are eligible for $600 stimulus checks, while in New Mexico, those who were not eligible for federal payments were also able to receive some funds from the state.

In addition, first responders and teachers have also qualified for $1,000 payments as a form of a bonus thanking them for their service during the pandemic in some states as well.