Recently, a nondescript envelope containing some suspicious-looking paperwork and a shiny debit card arrived in the mail at the McFerrin residence.
It looked like so much other junk mail that we receive from financial institutions asking us to apply for their wonderful credit card.
There was some verbiage about this being our Economic Impact Payment — the stimulus monies sent to most Americans under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
We had been looking for our CARES payment for quite some time, as many of our family members and friends had received theirs weeks earlier.
I learned about an IRS website that helps people learn whether they are eligible for the stimulus funds as well as informing them about the status of their payment if one is due.
A quick search for “Get My Payment,” the catchphrase for the site, led the way.
There, I learned that the wife and I were indeed eligible for a chunk of national debt booster and that our small share would be mailed to us in the form of a check.
Naturally, I was expecting ye grand ole paper check.
When this aforementioned shady debit card package arrived, I just knew it was some kind of scam. Whoever heard of MetaBank, imprinted on the back of the card?
I was so convinced that this was a fraud that I was tempted to shred the works.
Life happened, and I forgot about the envelope and its contents, now tucked away in a safe place. Before I could investigate online, wife Krista learned from a relative that the card probably was legit.
Further investigation confirmed that, yes, it was real.
In hindsight, isn’t it just like the government to promise one thing and deliver another.
