If you have unpaid debt, your stimulus check could be garnished  by debt collectors. While lawmakers shielded last year’s $600 stimulus check from debt collectors, a similar protection was not part of the 1.9 Trillion dollar Relief Bill. The bill does protect the payments from being garnished for some debts such as tax liens or unpaid student loans.

Without that protection, banks are legally required to turn over money if a debt collector files a court order to garnish the funds.