We got our first hurricane relief check from FEMA

 

That’s nice, but we didn’t apply for hurricane relief.

 

We contacted FEMA and they referred us to the fraud unit.  Someone using my social security number filed a claim.  They tried to get a direct deposit to their bank account, but FEMA mailed us a paper check instead.  If FEMA had made a direct deposit, we would never have been alerted and the fraud might have worked.  Good on FEMA for knowing not to direct deposit to a bank account for this claim.  (Although if we had accepted the first check, there was plenty more to follow…)

 

I doubt anyone will actually get caught for this, but at least we short-circuited one instance of fraud.  It sucks that someone is using my social security number, but there have been so many personal information breaches, it’s probably impossible to ever secure that number again.  It’s just out there now (everybody’s social security number is probably out there now), and we have to hope the next level of security catches all the ways it might be misused.