Don’t trash your stimulus money: IRS warns not to mistake your payment for junk mail

WASHINGTON, DC -- Officials are warning Americans not to mistake their new pandemic economic stimulus payments for junk mail.

The IRS says about 8 million people will receive their payments in debit cards mailed to their homes.

That's on top of others who will get checks in the mail.

So government officials are asking Americans to keep an eye on their mail and make sure they don't throw their payments away.

The AARP says some of its members did that — after mistaking their payments for scams.

The legitimate debit cards come in white envelopes with a Treasury Department seal.

The cards have a Visa logo in the front, and they've been issued by MetaBank, which is displayed in the back.

The IRS also says taxpayers who received checks in the first economic stimulus last year could now receive debit cards and vice versa.