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HL1Housing Living 101

What You Need to Know About the $5,108 Stimulus Payment Claim

By Tanika Patel
6 minute read

There is no $5,108 stimulus payment you can claim right now

The $5,108 figure circulating online does not correspond to any active federal stimulus program, tax credit, or relief payment currently being issued. This number appears in scams, misleading ads, and posts claiming you can "unlock" or "claim" money by clicking a link, entering personal information, or paying an upfront fee. None of those are real.

The actual stimulus and relief payments that have been issued by the federal government—the Economic Impact Payments in 2020, 2021, and 2021, the Child Tax Credit advance payments, and various pandemic relief programs—operated differently. They were deposited automatically or required you to file a tax return or submit information through an official government website. They never required you to "claim" them through a third-party link.

If you received a notice, email, text, or ad about a $5,108 payment, the source is almost certainly not the IRS, the Treasury Department, or any legitimate government agency.

Key Takeaways

  • No $5,108 stimulus payment exists as an active program; this figure is used in scams and misleading advertisements.
  • Real federal stimulus payments were issued automatically based on tax records or required filing through official IRS.gov or Treasury websites, never through third-party links.
  • If you were promised money for clicking a link, entering personal details, or paying a fee, that is a scam.
  • If you missed a real stimulus payment you were may have access to to, you may be able to claim it on your tax return, but only through official IRS channels.

How past stimulus payments actually worked

The three rounds of Economic Impact Payments (often called stimulus checks) issued in 2020 and 2021 were based on your 2019 or 2020 tax return. The IRS calculated who was may be able to access, determined the amount (which ranged from $600 to $1,400 per person depending on the round), and sent the money by direct deposit, check, or debit card. You did not have to "claim" it or take any action beyond filing a tax return in a prior year.

The Child Tax Credit advance payments in 2021 worked similarly: if you had a may have access to child and filed a 2020 tax return, the IRS sent you monthly payments automatically. You could adjust your payments through the IRS's Child Tax Credit Update Portal, but you did not apply for the money or claim it through a website link.

Other relief programs—unemployment insurance, rental assistance, small business loans—were administered by state agencies or local governments and required you to submit information directly to them, not to a third-party website promising a specific dollar amount.

Why the $5,108 number is a red flag

Scammers choose specific dollar amounts because they sound official and plausible. The $5,108 figure may be designed to seem like a combination of past payments or a calculation based on family size, but it has no basis in any real program. Real government payments are based on your actual tax situation, income, and household composition—not a flat amount offered to everyone.

Scams using this number typically follow a pattern: you see an ad or post claiming you are owed money, you click the link, you are asked to enter your Social Security number, date of birth, bank account details, or other personal information, and then either nothing happens or you are asked to pay a fee to "unlock" or "process" the payment. The scammer now has your identity information or your money, and you have nothing.

What to do if you think you missed a real payment

If you believe you were may have access to to a stimulus payment or tax credit you never received, the only legitimate way to address it is through the IRS. Go to IRS.gov directly (type the address into your browser yourself; do not click a link from an email or ad) and look for information about the specific payment you think you missed.

For the Economic Impact Payments, the IRS has a tool called the "Get My Payment" application that was available during 2020 and 2021. That tool is no longer active, but if you did not receive a payment you were may have access to to, you can claim it on your tax return by filing Form 1040 and including Schedule 3. A tax professional or the IRS Free File program can help you do this.

For the Child Tax Credit, if you did not receive the advance payments in 2021, you can claim the full credit on your 2021 tax return. Again, this is done through your tax return, not through a website claiming to have found unclaimed money for you.

How to protect yourself from stimulus payment scams

Real government agencies do not contact you through unsolicited emails, texts, or social media ads to tell you about money you are owed. They do not ask you to click a link to claim it. They do not charge a fee to process it. If you see an ad or message offering a specific dollar amount in exchange for your personal information, it is a scam.

Before entering any personal information online, verify the website address yourself. The IRS website is IRS.gov. The Treasury Department website is Treasury.gov. If you are unsure whether a payment is real, call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 (the number is on your tax return or on IRS.gov). Do not use a phone number from the email or ad you received.

If you have already entered personal information on a scam website, contact the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and consider placing a fraud alert with the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). If money was taken from your bank account, contact your bank immediately.

Legitimate programs that may still be available

While the $5,108 payment is not real, other relief programs do exist and may still be open depending on where you live and your situation. These include emergency rental assistance (if you fell behind on rent during the pandemic), utility assistance (if you owe money to your electric, gas, or water company), and food assistance programs. These are run by your state or local government, not by a website offering a flat payment amount.

To find out what programs may be available to you, contact your local 211 service (dial 2-1-1 or visit 211.org) or your state's human services department. These are free resources that connect you to real assistance based on your actual situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there any $5,108 payment I can get from the government?

No. This figure does not correspond to any active federal program. If you see it advertised online, it is a scam. Real government payments are based on your tax return and income, not a flat amount offered to everyone.

What if I missed a stimulus payment I was actually may have access to to?

You can claim it on your tax return. For Economic Impact Payments, use Form 1040 and Schedule 3. For the Child Tax Credit, claim it on your 2021 return. File through IRS.gov or with a tax professional; do not use a third-party website claiming to find unclaimed money for you.

How do I know if a payment offer is real?

Real government agencies do not contact you through ads or unsolicited emails offering a specific dollar amount. They do not ask you to click a link or enter personal information on a website. If you are unsure, go directly to IRS.gov or call 1-800-829-1040 yourself.

What should I do if I already gave my information to a scam website?

Report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Contact your bank if money was taken. Consider placing a fraud alert with the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) to protect yourself from identity theft.