Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, says his department has heard from about 200 Iowans who have concerns or complaints about the stimulus prepaid debit cards that are being issued to nearly four million Americans. The cards have apparently sparked a lot of confusion and questions regarding potential fraud, customer service, access, fees and other issues. “While we appreciate that prepaid debit cards are secure, we are concerned that this confusion could be exploited by scammers and result in financial harm to those an Economic Impact Payment was intended to help,” Miller says. These concerns, he is happy to report, are being addressed by the U.S. Treasury. Since many consumers believed they received a fraudulent card or that it was a solicitation and discarded or destroyed it, they had difficulty getting a replacement without the original card number. Miller says the Treasury has waived the $7.50 replacement fee for the first replacement card and changed the phone system so callers will get a live customer service representative. That number can be found below. Other measures discussed Monday include: increased daily limit for cash withdrawals from $1,000 to $2,500; the ability to transfer all of the money to a bank account free of charge; and verification that cards issued with an incorrect last name are still valid. As of Monday, the U.S. Treasury has reported nearly all of the cards have been mailed out.
_______________________________________
To report a lost or stolen card: 800-24-8100 then press 2 when prompted and enter the last four digits of your Social Security number.
