As much as we would like to think that mankind will 100 percent rally around each other in the face of COVID-19, a virus which cares little about your nationality or socio-economic status, it wants us all, thinking such would be folly.
Criminals are reaching out to us at our most vulnerable.
They are using the telephone and robocalls; they are using snail mail; and they are using the internet. Prepare yourself, and those who are most vulnerable, the elderly (of which I am but one), for the continue onslaught of scams designed to separate you from your money and/or personal/financial information.
The Department of Justices tells us that their seeing scams which include:
- Treatment scams: Scammers are offering to sell fake cures, vaccines, and advice on unproven treatments for COVID-19.
- Supply scams: Scammers are creating fake shops, websites, social media accounts, and email addresses claiming to sell medical supplies currently in high demand, such as surgical masks. When consumers attempt to purchase supplies through these channels, fraudsters pocket the money and never provide the promised supplies.
- Provider scams: Scammers are also contacting people by phone and email, pretending to be doctors and hospitals that have treated a friend or relative for COVID-19, and demanding payment for that treatment.
- Charity scams: Scammers are soliciting donations for individuals, groups, and areas affected by COVID-19.
- Phishing scams: Scammers posing as national and global health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are sending phishing emails designed to trick recipients into downloading malware or providing personal identifying and financial information.
- App scams: Scammers are also creating and manipulating mobile apps designed to track the spread of COVID-19 to insert malware that will compromise users’ devices and personal information.
- Investment scams: Scammers are offering online promotions on various platforms, including social media, claiming that the products or services of publicly traded companies can prevent, detect, or cure COVID-19, and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result. These promotions are often styled as “research reports,” make predictions of a specific “target price,” and relate to microcap stocks, or low-priced stocks issued by the smallest of companies with limited publicly available information.
Please don’t fall victim to these efforts.
I thank you for your time and please remember to keep your distance from one another
Christopher Burgess
To report, in the United States, a COVID-19 fraud or scam you may call the Department of Justice Covid-19 Hotline: 1-888-C19-WDPA or email the COVID-19 Fraud Coordinator, Senior Litigation Counsel Shaun Sweeney at USAPAW.COVID19@usdoj.gov or 1-888-C19-WDPA, or go to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.