A legitimate government refund check creates its own kind of danger: it teaches a reader that unexpected money sometimes really does show up, which is precisely the expectation a scammer needs to exploit. The Federal Trade Commission’s public refunds page currently lists five programs dated August 2026 — real settlements with real payments moving to real people — sitting directly above a warning that impersonators are using that same expectation to reach people who are, in fact, waiting on a check. Anyone touched by AT&T’s data practices, a debt-relief pitch, a business-opportunity scheme, Amazon Flex driving, or a Grubhub account has a reason to know the actual list before answering a call that claims to be about a refund.
Five Refund Programs Carry an August 2026 Date on the FTC’s Own List
The Federal Trade Commission updates its refund programs page on a rolling basis. As of September 8, 2026, five entries carry an August 2026 date: AT&T Data Throttling Refunds, Helping America Group Refunds, Blueprint to Wealth Settlement, Refunds for Amazon Flex Drivers, and Grubhub Refunds. Each lists its own toll-free number and its own third-party claims administrator — JND Legal Administration, Analytics Consulting, or Rust Consulting — the same small handful of firms that recur across nearly every program on the agency’s page, dozens of which stretch back to 2022 and earlier.
None of the five requires a new application. Each is a payment the agency is sending to people it already identified as eligible through the underlying case files, according to the FTC’s refund programs page, not a form a reader has to locate and submit. That distinction carries weight: a caller who asks someone to “file” for one of these five names, verify an account number to “release” a payment, or pay a fee before a check arrives, is describing a step the agency’s own page never mentions.
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AT&T and Amazon Flex Send Money Automatically, No Claim Required
Two of the five programs move money the same way: through a Zelle payment sent directly into a bank account, aimed at people who received an earlier payment and never cashed or accepted it. AT&T Data Throttling Refunds traces back to an FTC lawsuit alleging the company slowed data speeds for customers who had paid for supposedly unlimited plans, a practice the agency called data throttling. The FTC first sent checks and PayPal payments in April 2024, producing more than $5.6 million in refunds; it is now sending Zelle payments to the subset of those recipients who never cashed or accepted the original payment, according to its AT&T Data Throttling Refunds page.
Refunds for Amazon Flex Drivers runs on the same mechanism for a different case. The FTC accused Amazon of withholding tips that customers intended for Flex delivery drivers between 2016 and 2019. Its first round of payments went out in November 2021, a second round followed in May 2025, and the two rounds together returned more than $60.6 million in withheld tips, according to the Amazon Flex refund page. The current Zelle payments go to drivers who received a check in one of those earlier rounds but never cashed it, deposited automatically with a note identifying the settlement and no request for banking details or a processing fee.
Grubhub’s $23.8 Million Reaches Drivers and Diners Without a Claim Form
The largest of the five programs by dollar amount targets Grubhub. The FTC and the Illinois Attorney General accused the company of misleading delivery drivers about the earnings they could expect and of blocking diners from their own accounts in ways that prevented them from redeeming gift cards. The agency is sending 640,038 payments totaling more than $23.8 million to drivers and diners identified through that case, according to the Grubhub Refunds page. A recipient who gets a check has 90 days to cash it; a recipient who gets a PayPal payment has 30 days to accept it.
As with AT&T and Amazon Flex, the FTC identified the Grubhub recipients itself, through records tied to the underlying enforcement action. Nothing on the agency’s page describes an application, a form, or a deadline to apply for inclusion — only a deadline to accept money that has already been sent.
Helping America Group and Blueprint to Wealth Send Second-Round Checks to Past Scam Victims
Two of the five programs are follow-up payments to people the FTC already paid once. Helping America Group Refunds stems from a debt-relief operation that the FTC and the Florida Attorney General accused of collecting hundreds or thousands of dollars a month from consumers by falsely promising to pay, settle, or obtain dismissal of their debts and improve their credit scores. The agency sent an initial round of payments in July 2020 and a second round in December 2021, together totaling more than $20 million. Because it later recovered additional money from the defendants, it is now sending 9,522 more payments totaling over $463,000 to people who had already accepted their second payment, according to the Helping America Group Refunds page. Anyone who gets a check has 90 days to cash it.
Blueprint to Wealth Settlement follows an identical pattern for a business-opportunity scheme that promised members an “everything-is-done-for-you” path to income with support from paid “success coaches.” The FTC sent a first round of payments in September 2025 totaling more than $317,000. With money still remaining in the settlement fund, it is sending 2,005 more payments totaling over $333,000 to people who accepted their first payment, according to the Blueprint to Wealth Settlement page — 90 days to cash a check, 30 days to accept a PayPal payment.
The FTC’s Own Warning: A Legitimate Refund Never Requires a Payment
The refund programs page carries a standing notice above the list of cases: “Scammers are impersonating the FTC. The FTC will never threaten you, say you must transfer money to ‘get a refund,’ or promise you a prize. That’s a scam.” The notice exists precisely because the five real programs above it give an impersonator something to imitate: a named company, a plausible dollar figure, and a real reason an older reader might already be waiting on money.
The agency directs anyone contacted about a supposed refund to check it independently against its own refunds page, rather than through a link, phone number, or QR code supplied by the caller, and to report a suspected impersonation at reportfraud.ftc.gov. That page, not a phone call, is the only account of the five August 2026 programs that carries the FTC’s name.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
