When news captures the public\u2019s attention \u2013 think major hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and economic slowdowns \u2013 scammers come out of the woodwork to take advantage of legitimate fears and concerns. With coronavirus dominating the news globally, there is an unprecedented opportunity for criminals to use the public\u2019s fears about the virus and the resulting economic downturn to defraud consumers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Over the next few months, we will devote our monthly Fraud Alerts to giving consumers the tools to spot and avoid some of the many types of scams related to COVID-19. To kick off this series, we\u2019re focusing on two of the most pernicious types scams that are increasing due to coronavirus: robocalls and stimulus check scams.<\/p>\n
Coronavirus-related robocalls<\/strong><\/p>\n Robocalls are, at the very least, a major annoyance for most consumers. However, as the coronavirus has upended daily life, robocall operators have quickly shifted to blasting out spam phone calls offering all manner of coronavirus-related products and services. YouMail, a cloud-based telecommunications provider that tracks robocall volumes, estimates that at least one million robocalls per day<\/a> are inundating Americans\u2019 cell phones. Fraudulent robocallers are offering air duct sanitation services, work-from-home opportunities, cut-rate health insurance, and immune-system boosting nutritional supplements. Other robocalls have reportedly<\/a> offered free insulin kits to diabetics, along with free coronavirus testing kits.<\/p>\n \u201cAt best, consumers who respond to these calls are setting themselves up to lose money for a non-existent product or service,\u201d said John Breyault, director of NCL\u2019s Fraud.org campaign. \u201cAt worst, delaying needed emergency treatments on the belief that a fake coronavirus treatment will save your life could be deadly to you and those you come into contact with.\u201d<\/p>\n Our advice to consumers is simple:<\/p>\n Stimulus check scams<\/strong><\/p>\n Last week, President Trump signed the biggest stimulus bill in U.S. history into law. Most American adults will receive a stimulus of $1,200 or more in the coming weeks thanks to the legislation. Crooks are already using these promised payments<\/a> as a way to defraud consumers. Scams that have been reported involve crooks promising to expedite payment in exchange for a fee, impersonating a government official, and requesting sensitive personal information in order to process a check. Inaccurate social media posts have also circulated<\/a> suggesting that consumers need to fill out the 2020 Census before they can receive a stimulus check.<\/p>\n “Stimulus checks will help millions of American households weather the coming economic downturn,\u201d said Breyault. \u201cUnfortunately, the phrase \u2018free money from the government\u2019 is magic to scammers\u2019 ears. Consumers should be on the lookout for fraudsters who will try to use the coming stimulus checks to steal their money.\u201d<\/p>\n Consumers can protect themselves from these scams by learning to spot these red flags:<\/p>\n These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to coronavirus-related scams. If you\u2019ve been on the receiving end of a coronavirus-related phone call, email, or text message that you think is a scam, we want to hear from you! By filing a complaint at Fraud.org via our secure online complaint form<\/a>, you can help law enforcement bring scammers to justice. We share complaints with our network of nearly 200 law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can and do put fraudsters behind bars.<\/p>\n\n
\n