As most of the world takes protective measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), an ugly side of humanity is emerging to take advantage of our vulnerabilities. Scammers are developing new and sophisticated attempts to steal personally identifiable information (PII), extract bank account and routing numbers, hack into virtual conference calls and deploy destructive viruses into computers.
Why now? According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), criminals are very opportunistic. When they see a vulnerable population, they prey upon it.
If you’re spending more time at home using online devices, pay close attention to where you’re clicking. You should also be leery of phone calls from unknown numbers and keep a watchful eye for these kinds of phishing schemes:
The FBI is seeing scammers target people via social media, email or phone, pretending to be with the government. Scammers are even going door-to-door to convince people they need to donate money for COVID-19 testing or medical equipment.
Government agencies mainly communicate by mail and will not call, message, text or email you out of the blue, even during a pandemic. Any person who contacts you in one of these ways, claiming to be with the government, is a fraud.
COVID-19 has forced thousands of businesses to close their doors, even temporarily, leaving many Americans suddenly out of work. If you are currently unemployed and get a call from someone asking you for an urgent payment for a work-from-home job, hang up. This person is engaging in criminal activity. Legitimate jobs will not ask you to pay them.
Scammers might call people 65 years and older to offer products like a COVID-19 kit, a coronavirus package or Medicare benefits related to the virus. They will ask you to verify personal information like your bank account, Social Security Number or Medicare Number.
Again, government staff will not call you. Never give personal information over the phone. The FBI says, if you get a call from someone saying he or she is a Medicare representative, hang up immediately and report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
One of the most lucrative schemes for criminals is offering you an opportunity to invest in a cure or treatment for the new coronavirus. These offers might include buying stock in companies that are working to prevent, detect or cure COVID-19. If you receive an offer like this, especially when you were not looking for such an opportunity, proceed with extreme caution.
With the news that the U.S. government approved a stimulus relief package comes another way for scammers to attempt to steal banking information from victims. The FTC reports attempts of scammers requesting people pay a fee to get their stimulus check or requesting PII such as your Social Security Number or bank account information. Read about this scam and what to do if you are contacted with this kind of request.
The FTC and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) jointly issued warning letters to sellers of unapproved and misbranded products that claim they can treat or prevent COVID-19. The FBI is investigating many reported scam cases and has already made arrests and filed charges against people they believe are stealing people’s money.
The scams listed above are only a few examples of what to watch out for during this outbreak, and these could change or new ones might surface. Here are some general tips for protecting yourself from a scam:
The FTC has created this quick and easy guide to help prevent scams during COVID-19. Print it and share it with friends and loved ones to keep them from being victims. You can also sign up for free scam alerts from the FTC at ftc.gov/subscribe.
Read our other COVID-19-related articles for more information on this topic:
Developed by Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Territories of Guam and American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 12SOW-MPQHF-AS-CC-20-23
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