Officials warn not to mistake stimulus checks for junk mail

Jan 13, 2021
Jan 13, 2021 Updated Jan 13, 2021

STIMULUS CHECK - TRUMP SIGNATURE - AP FILE.jpeg — FILE - In this April 23, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump's name is seen on a stimulus check issued by the IRS to help combat the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, in San Antonio. There were just a few hundred coronavirus cases when Congress first started focusing on emergency spending in early March. By the end of that month, as Congress passed the massive $2.2 trillion Cares Act, cases skyrocketed above 100,000 and deaths climbed past 2,000. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Officials are reminding Americans to not mistake their new economic stimulus payments for junk mail.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said around 8 million people will receive their payments via Economic Impact Payments (EIP) cards mailed to their homes.

The cards have a Visa logo on the front and have been issued by MetaBank, which is displayed on the back. The debit cards come in white envelopes with a United States Department of the Treasury seal.

AARP said some of its members mistakenly thought the payments were junk mail and threw away the debit cards.

If the IRS doesn't have a taxpayer's bank account information, the stimulus payment will be loaded on a prepaid debit card for some recipients.

The IRS also said taxpayers who received mailed checks in the first economic stimulus payments last year could receive debit cards or vice versa this time around. Around 4 million Americans received the EIP cards last year.

Recipients of the stimulus check can't request a particular form of payment.

The EIP card can be activated by calling 800-240-8100. Recipients will provided their name, address and Social Security number, and then create a four-digit personal identification number (PIN) for ATM transactions.

Money can be transferred to existing bank accounts online at EIPcard.com.