Having heard that my wife and I would be receiving a “paper check” by regular mail under the federal government’s CARES Act, in response to the coronavirus-imperiled economy, we looked forward to that event with much anticipation. After all, it isn’t very often that Uncle Sam opens his wallet and voluntarily doles out greenbacks.

On May 26, one of the envelopes in our mail – unremarkable in every aspect with no unusual designations and which usually would have gotten trashed without being opened…