With more than 356,533 reports of stimulus check scams that have cost victims more than $341 million, Social Catfish has stepped in to help combat the issue. According to a report released on Social Catfish, here are four common stimulus check scams along with ways to avoid common check scams. Robocall check scamsResidents should avoid giving out personal information over the phone, keeping in mind that the government has their information on file. Then they will use the victim’s information to claim their stimulus check and drain their account. AdFor more information on the status of your stimulus check visit the IRS website.

A number of taxpayers who use tax preparation services, such as H&R Block and TurboTax, say their second relief payments were sent to the incorrect bank account. The IRS and the Treasury Department began issuing the Economic Impact Payments last week of Jan. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)TurboTax customers who have yet to receive their second round of relief payments due to a snafu with bank account numbers should expect to start seeing their checks on Friday, the tax preparation service announced. The delay in the direct deposits came after a number of taxpayers who used TurboTax said their second relief payments were sent to the incorrect bank account. You could be eligible to receive a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 taxes if you did not receive the full amount of the economic stimulus payments.

ROANOKE, Va. – Americans are preparing to receive money from the government, but not just in the form of $600 stimulus checks. Tax return filing season will likely begin by the end of January and tax return preparer David Kembel anticipates the process will have an additional significance this year because of the stimulus payments. Kembel said that’s because of the IRS, not because of individual tax return preparers. “Just give everyone some money and don’t worry about it, but they did tie it to taxes.”Kembel expects many Americans to file early because of the stimulus checks, but tax return preparers are used to an early flood of customers every tax season. “Everything in between is just a blur.”The IRS has not yet set the first day for filing tax returns.

Some Americans may have already received a second stimulus check, but these COVID-19 relief payments can also lead to scams. According to the Better Business Bureau, beware of texts, calls or emails asking for you to verify personal information to get your $600 check. There are only two ways you’ll receive it, and both depend on how you got your 2019 tax returns. A common stimulus check scam is an email or message asking you to click on a link for a bogus application to get your payment. For more on what to lookout for and what to do if you come in contact with a scam, click here.

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, Texas. A federal judge says the IRS can't keep withholding coronavirus relief payments from incarcerated people, potentially clearing the way for at least 80,000 checks totaling more than $100 million to be sent to people behind bars across the United States. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton late last month gives the IRS until Oct. 24 to reconsider the payments for those who were denied or had their money intercepted solely because of their incarceration. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

CNN – White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday that the administration has been engaged in discussions on the next stimulus bill for the past week, but negotiations will start "in earnest" Monday on Capitol Hill. "As we've started to engage with our Senate and House colleagues up on Capitol Hill, those will start in earnest starting tomorrow, Monday," Meadows said in an interview on Fox News. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will meet with President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin "to actually start to fine tune it," Meadows added. "Whether it's a payroll tax deduction, whether it's making sure that unemployment benefits continue without a disincentive to return to work," he said. The issue of continuing unemployment benefits has been a sticking point for Democrats in negotiations.

During a live White House coronavirus update Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence announced Americans will begin to see their economic impact payments direct depositing into their accounts next week. Watch the full update below, or click here to pick up right where Pence addresses the stimulus packages. “With regard to direct payments to Americans, the treasury secretary assured senators -- and we assure every American -- that we remain on the timetable where the first payments and direct deposits will go out by the end of next week,” Pence said. For tax filers who make more than those amounts, the payment amount will be reduced by $5 for each $100 above the said thresholds. We know many of you have many questions concerning your economic impact payments.