A call or text claims you have government money waiting — but it harvests your identity
A robocall, text, or email claims the government has a relief check or tariff rebate waiting in your name. The site you are directed to harvests your SSN and banking details for identity theft rather than delivering any payment.
Also known as: fake relief check scam, tariff rebate scam, fake government check call, unclaimed government money scam, tariff dividend phishing
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Hang up on any robocall claiming you have government money waiting — do not press any key or say 'yes'
- 2 Delete any text or email with a link to 'claim' a government check — verify whether any such program exists by visiting usa.gov directly
- 3 If you already entered personal details, place a free credit freeze with all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) immediately
- 4 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ Government agencies do not call you to tell you unclaimed money is waiting — they mail official notices
- ⚠ The message creates urgent pressure: 'claim it before it's returned' or 'payment will be cancelled'
- ⚠ The link or website asks for your SSN, address, phone number, or banking details just to 'verify eligibility'
- ⚠ No such tariff rebate, dividend, or relief check program exists — scammers exploit political discussions about potential checks
- ⚠ The website does not end in .gov and the phone number is a spoofed local number or toll-free number
- ⚠ After entering your information, you are pushed to 'redeem offers' on unrelated third-party websites
Known variants
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Robocall says a specific dollar amount ($5,286 or similar) is sitting in a 'relief check from past federal programs' in your name. You're directed to a website collecting ZIP, phone, email, address — then redirects to data-harvesting lead-gen pages.
Last seen: 6/4/2026
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Text or email exploits political talk about tariff dividends or stimulus, claiming a $2,000 (or similar) payment is ready. Urgent wording ('confirm NOW or your payment will be cancelled') drives clicks to a phishing site harvesting SSN and bank info.
Last seen: 6/4/2026
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A call, text, or email impersonating a state 'Unclaimed Property Office' or official-sounding agency claims you have hundreds or thousands of dollars in unclaimed state funds (old bank account, insurance policy, utility deposit). They request SSN or banking details to 'release' the funds, or demand a small processing fee by gift card or wire.
Last seen: 6/4/2026
Sources
- BBB — Fake relief check phone calls claim you have money waiting
- CNBC Select — $2,000 Tariff Rebate Checks: Separating Facts From Scams (2026)
- Scamicide — $2,000 Tariff Rebate Texts Are a Scam (Jan 2026)
- Politifact — Scam emails falsely claim people must act to claim a tariff dividend (Jan 2026)
- FTC Consumer Alert — How to handle unexpected calls about unclaimed funds (Mar 2026)