The scam:  Consumers are being victimized by con-men who claim that personal bills will be paid by the Federal Government through a new economic development program from President Obama.  There is no such program.

Consumers who provide a Social Security Number and credit/debit card information are given fake routing and account numbers to use on a billers website.  The biller then attempts to collect payment from a phony account.

In the meantime, the criminals may run up charges on the victim’s credit card or find some other way to wring money from the victim.

Bottom line:  The Federal Government does not pay personal bills (at least not yet).  Never provide your credit/debit card numbers to anyone UNLESS you initiated the transaction.