ATLANTA — While Georgia officials said that ongoing issues with the rollout of $350 cash payments to residents enrolled in certain social benefit programs had been "largely resolved," many people still have a lot of questions and comments.
The beginning of these issues started with people who received the assistance, but then reported problems spending the money after it was sent out in the form of a virtual card, connected to Apple Pay.
There are thousands of comments and questions on 11Alive's social media pages, as well as the Georgia Department of Human Services Facebook page.
One of the main questions is: When will people receive their cards?
DHS said if you are expecting multiple payments for different people in your household, they may not all arrive at the same time. In addition, if you opted to receive a physical card instead of the virtual pay, the cards may take a few weeks to arrive by mail.
The next big issue seems to be related to people losing or having their cards stolen.
DHS said if you believe your card is stolen, call 1-833-907-0683. It’s the same number you’ll use if you need to suspend your card, just in case you lose it. If you find your card again- you can call this same number and unsuspend your card.
And DHS is issuing a new warning, to be wary of anyone asking for information and posing as the state department. DHS said a fake Facebook account began commenting on posts, asking for people to click on links and send direct messages. The official Facebook page for DHS is online here. Any message sent on the department's behalf will have a blue verified check badge.
For people still having issues figuring out how to sign up for their card, use the card, and other questions, DHS released a video giving a step-by-step tutorial. And for people finding themselves locked out of their Georgia gateway accounts, DHS has a step-by-step guide on how to create a new one.