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The COVID-19
pandemic is fueling a parallel surge of coronavirus scams, many of which are
aimed at senior citizens.
Nearly
657,000 customer complaints about COVID-19 and stimulus payments had been filed
with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with 73 percent of them including
fraud or identity theft. Consumers have lost a total of $636.7 million as a
result of these frauds, with an average loss of $400.
Criminals
are employing a complete range of scam tools — phishing emails and texts, phony
social media posts, robocalls, impostor schemes, and more — as well as closely
monitoring the news, adjusting their themes, and tactics as new medical and
economic crises emerge.
False
cures and vaccine promises
Scammers have
been bombarding consumers with advertisements for fraudulent therapies since
the outbreak began, and they haven't stopped despite the availability of
COVID-19 vaccines and federally approved treatments.
According to
the FBI, con artists are promoting bogus COVID-19 antibody tests in the hopes
of gathering personal information for identity theft or health insurance fraud.
In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) have issued scores of warnings to companies selling
unlicensed COVID-19 cures or preventions.
Teas,
essential oils, cannabinol, colloidal silver, and intravenous vitamin-C
therapies are among the remedies promoted as pandemic defenses in clinics, on
websites, social media, and television shows.
Fraudulent
financial transactions
Since the
beginning of the pandemic, Congress has passed three economic relief packages,
providing stimulus checks, increased unemployment benefits, small business
support, and other forms of assistance to tens of millions of Americans. This
has spawned a slew of scams to steal aid funds. According to the Secret
Service, which established a national coordinator for pandemic fraud recovery
activities in December 2021, criminals had siphoned approximately $100 billion
from federal relief programs.
With
economic concern at an all-time high, con artists are posing as banks and
lenders and offering phony assistance with bills, credit card debt, and student
loan forgiveness. Small businesses are also being targeted, with scammers
contacting owners with false promises of assisting them in obtaining federal
disaster loans or improving their Google search results.
Stock frauds
have also emerged as a result of the pandemic. The Securities and Exchange
Commission of the United States has issued a warning to investors regarding con
artists pushing investments in companies that claim to be able to prevent,
detect, or cure diseases. COVID-19. According to the experts, if you buy those
stocks now, they will skyrocket in value.
Scams
involving phishing and spoofing
Email
phishing and associated scams have been a key part of what the FBI's Online
Crime Complaint Center has dubbed an "internet crime spree" spurred
by a pandemic.
According to
a March 2021 analysis by Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity firm, cybercrooks
registered tens of thousands of COVID-related fake web domains in the first
year of the epidemic. Hundreds of these questionable sites have been shut down
by the Justice Department, which offers personal protective equipment, relief
funds, vaccines, and other aid under the guise of official entities or
humanitarian organizations.
Scams
involving the coronavirus and how to avoid them
<!--[if !supportLists]-->·
<!--[endif]-->Online
offers for coronavirus treatments or speedier vaccine availability should be avoided.
They aren't genuine.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->·
<!--[endif]-->Be
skeptical of emails, phone calls, and social media posts offering
"free" COVID-19 examinations or government-ordered COVID-19 tests. A
list of approved tests and testing businesses can be found on the FDA website.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->·
<!--[endif]-->Even
if the email address appears like a corporation or person you know, don't click
on links or download anything from unexpected emails. Text messages and strange
websites are the same way.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->·
<!--[endif]-->Responding
to an unsolicited call, text, or email with personal information such as Social
Security, Medicare, or credit card numbers is not a good idea.