8A
| APRIL 30, 2020
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
|
Be on lookout for stimulus check-related scams
There’s been a flood of
information and updates
about the government’s eco-
nomic impact payments, or
“stimulus checks.”
But quickly and safely
moving massive amounts
of money into the hands of
those who need it is a big job
with a lot of moving parts.
The more you know about
the process, the less likely
you’re going to be tripped
up by calls, text messages or
emails from scammers try-
ing to steal your money or
personal information.
Here’s what you need to
City
from A1
According to City Man-
ager Richard Meyers, the
equipment includes Level
2 chargers with SAE J1772
plugs, which are standard
plugs for all electric vehi-
cles. Stations are expected
to charge vehicles at 25
miles per hour.
Health insurance
coverage
Councilors unanimous-
ly elected to continue
paying the city’s share of
health insurance coverage
for full-time employees
who will be laid off May 2.
Th e coverage of 15 part-
time and fi ve full-time em-
ployees will continue until
the layoff period ends and
is expected to cost about
$6,800 per month if cur-
rent contribution amounts
remain.
Because full-time em-
ployees will have one day
of work in May, the work-
ers will continue to receive
coverage through the rest
of the month. Aft er May
31, these workers would
still be eligible for coverage
under the Consolidated
Omnibus Budget Recon-
ciliation Act health insur-
ance program, though they
would be responsible for
the entire premium.
Councilors
discussed
know about the stimulus
payments and how to avoid
scams related to these pay-
ments.
Who will get money?
Adult U.S. residents that
meet established income
limits are eligible to receive
money from the govern-
ment. This includes:
• Taxpayers—people who
filed a federal tax return for
2018 or 2019.
• Retirees—people who
get Social Security, Railroad,
or other retirement benefits.
• Beneficiaries—people
who get public benefits like
SSDI, disability or veterans’
benefits.
• Non-filers—people who
do not have to file a federal
tax return, including peo-
ple who made no income or
made less than $12,200 (or
$24,400 for married cou-
ples).
What to do
Most people don’t have
to do anything to get their
money because the IRS will
use the same payment meth-
od — direct deposit, Direct
Express debit card, or paper
check — used to send you
your tax refund, Social Se-
assisting with these pre-
mium costs by continuing
the city’s share of cover-
age at a previous council
meeting.
“I’m anticipating that
we will be closed until the
end of August,” said Mey-
ers when asked about the
length of coverage.
In other city council
news:
• Th e city council unani-
mously voted to award the
Safe Routes to School and
Fillmore stormwater out-
fall projects to lowest bid-
der Wildish Construction
Co., who submitted an es-
timate of about $3,487,000.
Wildish Construction’s
bid came in more than
$2 million under the en-
gineer’s estimate for the
projects. Barring protest,
the award will be fi nal-
ized on May 4. In a related
move, the council voted to
purchase property neces-
sary construct a new out-
fall and bioswale as part of
the Fillmore project.
• Summer performanc-
es from the Eugene Sym-
phony and the US Air
Force Band of the Golden
Wes have both canceled
due to concerns related to
COVID-19.
• Th e city is reopening
Middlefi eld Golf Course
on the morning of May 1.
curity, retirement, or other
government benefits money.
If the IRS doesn’t have your
direct deposit information,
you can go to the “Get My
Payment” feature at irs.gov/
coronavirus and let them
know where to send your di-
rect deposit.
If you don’t usually file
a tax return, go to irs.gov/
coronavirus to access the
“Non-filer” portal and to
figure out what, if anything,
you have to do to claim your
money.
To check on the status of
your payment, you can now
use the “Get My Payment”
feature at irs.gov/coronavi-
rus.
Avoid Coronavirus stimu-
lus payment scams
Scammers are using these
stimulus payments to try to
rip people off. They might
try to get you to pay a fee
to get your stimulus pay-
ment. Or they might try to
convince you to give them
your Social Security num-
ber, bank account, or gov-
ernment benefits debit card
account number.
Tips for avoiding a Coro-
navirus stimulus payment
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$35 Family
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To Order Call : 541-968-2403
60 Gateway Blvd, Cottage Grove
scam
• Only use irs.gov/coro-
navirus to submit informa-
tion to the IRS, and never
in response to a call, text, or
email.
• You don’t have to pay to
get your stimulus money.
• The IRS won’t tell you to
deposit your stimulus check
then send them money back
because they paid you more
than they owed you. That’s a
fake check scam.
• Report scams to the Fed-
eral Trade Commission at
ftc.gov/complaint.