THE DAILY RED FLAG #043 — October 27, 2026

THE SCAM If you keep savings bonds or I bonds at TreasuryDirect, there is a real change this week: after Wednesday, October 28, 2026, the old TreasuryDirect login stops working and ID.me becomes the only way to sign in. Scammers love a real change like this, because their fake email no longer has to invent a story. It just rides the real one. The email says you need to verify your account, re-link your bonds, or finish your ID.me setup before the deadline, and it gives you a link to do it. The link goes to a copycat page built to steal the exact things ID.me setup asks for: your Social Security number, a photo of your government ID, your password, and your one-time code. Hand those over and the scammer can walk straight into your account.

THE RED FLAG The email itself is the giveaway. Treasury says it does not send unsolicited emails asking for personal or financial information, and it never demands a fee to release your money. ID.me says it will never ask for your password or your one-time code, and its real website ends in .me, not .com — so anything from an address like @idme.com is a fake. And the urgency is a lie too: TreasuryDirect says your money is not frozen or seized if you miss the deadline. Your funds stay safe, and you can restore online access any time later by doing the setup properly. Anyone telling you your bonds will disappear on Wednesday is trying to rush you past thinking.

THE RULE Never set up ID.me through a link in an email. Type TreasuryDirect.gov into your browser yourself and use the Secure Sign In button there. If you get stuck, call TreasuryDirect's own help line at 844-284-2676, or ask a trusted family member to sit with you while you do it. The real change is real — but the real setup never arrives in your inbox.

Read it on the site: https://erawaeb.com/digest/daily/043-the-treasurydirect-email-that-isn-t-from-treasurydirect/

Source: TreasuryDirect ID.me transition FAQ; Dunlap.Today Scam Watch, October 26, 2026