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December 28, 2020
Don’t Let Scammers Steal Your Stimulus Money Or Personal Information
With the recent passage of a second COVID-19 relief bill, all qualifying adult taxpayers can expect to receive stimulus money, also referred to as economic impact payments, direct payments or stimulus checks. When sums of money are being distributed, you can guarantee fraudsters won’t be far behind. Protect your personal information and stimulus money by staying vigilant. These tips can help you stay secure from stimulus scams:
Don’t share personal information over phone, text or email.
Official government entities, like the IRS, will never ask you to verify personal information through email or over the phone. Never provide your account numbers, social security number or other private information to anyone, even if they claim to be from the IRS. When in doubt about the legitimacy of an email or voicemail, get in touch with the government agency or financial institution directly by calling their official phone number, which is always publicly available on their website. If you’re asked to return a call to a different number, the voicemail is probably a stimulus scam.
Don’t click on links or attachments in emails or text messages that you didn’t request.
When you’re unsure where an email or text message came from, it’s best not to open it and just delete it. Scammers can create fake communications that use official-sounding language, maybe even a stolen logo, to feign legitimacy by mimicking a government agency or financial institution. They may pretend to be from the IRS asking you to “confirm your social security number to receive your stimulus payment,” or other falsehoods designed to steal your information. Never open attachments in emails, or click links in text messages, that you weren’t specifically expecting. These attachments or links could potentially download viruses or other dangerous content designed to spy on you, collect your personal information, trick you out of your stimulus money or worse.
Know that you won’t have to pay anything to receive the stimulus check.
The IRS will not ask you to deposit your check and then send them money. Stimulus payments will be deposited directly into the same banking account reflected on the most recent tax return that you filed, either 2018 or 2019. If the IRS does not have a taxpayer’s direct deposit information, a physical check will be mailed to their last known address on file.
Only trust information from official sources.
There will likely be a lot of misinformation floating around the internet and social networking sites, especially as the details of the stimulus checks are rolled out by the IRS. Make sure to get news and updates only from official sources, such as IRS.gov. Scammers may try to create misinformation designed to mislead the public.
Do you believe you’ve been a victim of fraud or identity theft? Visit identitytheft.gov, the official government website that allows you to report fraud, including stimulus scams, to the IRS and FTC simultaneously.
For our latest updates about COVID-19 and related content, visit growfinancial.org/covid-19.
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How to Find Your Routing & Account Numbers
When you make a payment online, by phone or on a mobile device, you may be asked for our routing number and your checking account number. Credit unions and banks use these numbers to identify accounts and make sure money gets where it’s supposed to be. You’ll also need to provide your routing and checking account numbers for:
- Direct deposits
- Electronic checks
- Military allotments
- Wire transfers
Where to Find Your Routing & Checking Account Numbers
Your personal checks include both our routing number and your account number, as shown on the Grow check example below.
Don’t have a Grow check? No worries.
Visit any Grow store and ask for a Direct Deposit Form. It lists both your routing number and checking account number.
Making a Loan Payment
When it comes to making payments, we try to make it as painless as possible to pay your loan every month. We have several different ways to pay, including convenient online options.
Pay Online
You have two ways to pay online by transferring funds from another bank or credit union.
- Grow Online Banking (Preferred payment method for any loan)
This is the simplest way to pay your loan. You can make one-time payments or set up automatic recurring payments in Grow Online Banking. Once you log in, select “Transfer/Payments” from the menu. If you’re not enrolled in Grow Online Banking yet, you can set up your account in just a few minutes.
Log In
- Debit Card or ACH (Available for auto, personal loans and HELOCs)
Note: ACH and debit card payments are not available for credit cards or most mortgages, except HELOCs.
We accept ACH payments with no additional fees or Mastercard® and Visa® debit cards with a convenience fee of $4.95. To get started with an online ACH or debit card payment, select Pay Now below.
Pay Now
Pay by Mail
You can also pay any Grow loan by check through the mail. Please remember to include your account number and Grow loan number on the check. (For credit card payments, please do not write your 16-digit credit card number on the check, which can cause a delay in processing the payment.)
Address for auto, credit card, personal loan and HELOC payments:
Grow Financial Federal Credit Union
P.O. Box 75466
Chicago, IL 60675-5466Address for personal first or second mortgages and home equity payments:
Grow Financial Federal Credit Union
P.O. Box 11733
Newark, NJ 07101-4733You Are About To Leave GrowFinancial.org
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