There are no pending stimulus checks. Scammers exploit economic anxiety by claiming you have unclaimed government money. Any message about 'unclaimed stimulus' requiring personal info or a fee is fraud.
About this scam type: Messages about unclaimed stimulus payments or government grants
ScamRadar verdict: scam · Risk score: 95/100
From: refunds@irs-stimulus-payment.gov Subject: FINAL NOTICE - Your $1,400 Stimulus Payment Pending The IRS has identified you as eligible for a delayed $1,400 stimulus payment under the American Rescue Plan. To claim, verify your bank account, Social Security number, and date of birth at: https://irs-stimulus-payment.gov/claim within 72 hours or forfeit.
The IRS uses irs.gov only — never irs-stimulus-payment.gov or any other domain. There are no pending stimulus payments in 2026, and the IRS never asks for banking information by email.
If you submitted personal information, place a free fraud alert and credit freeze with all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion), file at IdentityTheft.gov for a personalized recovery plan with pre-filled FTC affidavit and IRS Form 14039, file your tax return as early as possible to prevent fraudulent returns from being filed in your name, submit IRS Form 14039 directly to the IRS, and monitor your tax transcript at irs.gov/account for any unauthorized filings. If you provided bank account information, contact your bank to add fraud monitoring or change account numbers. Watch your statements daily for the next 60 days. Report to TIGTA at tigta.gov/reportcrime, the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and the IRS at phishing@irs.gov with the original email headers.
The IRS does not email taxpayers about stimulus payments, refunds, or any other matter — period. All real IRS contact is by US Mail first. There are no pending stimulus payments in 2026; the most recent stimulus payments were the third round under the American Rescue Plan in 2021, and any unclaimed amounts must be requested through your tax return at irs.gov/refunds. Real IRS web addresses end in irs.gov only, never .gov-something or hyphenated variants. Check your real IRS account status at irs.gov/account.
No. The most recent federal stimulus payments were the third Economic Impact Payments in 2021. Any unclaimed amounts must be requested through your tax return at irs.gov/refunds, not through any email link.
Never. The IRS contacts taxpayers exclusively by US Mail for initial contact. Any email claiming to be from the IRS is a scam, regardless of how official it looks or how legitimate the .gov-style domain appears.
Place a fraud alert and credit freeze with all three bureaus (free), file at IdentityTheft.gov, file taxes early to prevent fraudulent returns, submit IRS Form 14039 to flag your tax record, and contact your bank to add fraud monitoring or change account numbers.
Some states (California, Colorado, others) sent state-level inflation relief or tax refunds in 2022-2024. Check your state's tax department website directly. None are being announced or paid in 2026 by federal authorities, and none are claimed by emailing personal information to .gov-lookalike domains.
Forward the email to phishing@irs.gov, file at TIGTA tigta.gov/reportcrime, and report to FTC reportfraud.ftc.gov. Include the original email headers (View > Show Original in Gmail).
Last reviewed: 2026-06-24 by the ScamRadar editorial team. We update this page when scammer tactics change or when official agencies issue new guidance.
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