Some $350 cash assistance cards have been intercepted, used by fraudsters - WSB Atlanta

ATLANTA — There are caller fraud concerns with the $1 cardinal successful currency payments designed to assistance immoderate of the astir susceptible Georgians.

Dekalb County nonmigratory Geneva Moon can’t get entree to her $350 currency assistance paper from the authorities of Georgia, but idiosyncratic is spending the money. According to the state’s online portal, determination person been aggregate charges.

“Somebody, determination is utilizing it,” Moon told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray.

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Cobb County nonmigratory Dena Barrett fears the aforesaid occupation with the assistance for her children that the authorities portal shows has been paid, but she hasn’t received.

“What is astir frustrating is idiosyncratic mightiness person it and is utilizing it and I’m not,” Barrett said.

In September Georgia Governor Brian Kemp provided $1 cardinal dollars successful leftover national assistance from the American rescue plan, a measure helium opposed.

The $350 currency cards were going to Medicaid, SNAP & TANF recipients.

There has been disorder redeeming the cards from the start. Social media channels for the authorities were flooded with complaints. Now determination is simply a increasing interest astir fraud.

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“The wealth needs to get to the radical it was meant to get too,” Moon said.

The Georgia Department of Human Services acknowledges fraudsters person attempted to bargain from the program, telling Channel 2 successful a statement:

“DHS and its vendors person kept a adjacent ticker connected perchance fraudulent enactment and taken decisive enactment to support customers, their information, and their payments. Due to suspicious enactment and retired of an abundance of caution, a tiny fig of Georgia gateway accounts were temporarily suspended oregon delinked.”

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DHS says phishing schemes are besides targeting the $350 currency cards with Georgians receiving unsafe phishing texts and emails from scammers.

“Even much disturbing than this 1 paper successful my caput is we’re talking astir millions of dollars and however overmuch of that is being intercepted,” Moon said.

‘We’ve instituted controls successful accordance with industry-standard practices erstwhile phishing-related and akin fraudulent activities whitethorn occur,” a DHS connection said.

According to the latest numbers, $997,620,000 has been sent to 2,850,353 Georgians with $557,678,100 claimed and $443,570,999 spent.

Dena Barrett says the wealth would marque a immense quality for her 4 children, if she tin conscionable get it.

“With Christmas coming up and the holidays and nutrient costing what it does and everything other this would beryllium a godsend,” Barrett said.

If you request assistance from DHS determination numbers, you tin telephone 1-833-907-0683 to record a assertion for the imaginable fraud oregon if you did not person your email virtual card, you tin interaction 1-877-423-4746.

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