The COVID-19 Pandemic has no doubt presented our communities with many challenges. With any challenge, however, solutions are put forth to mitigate the damage that could be done to physical, mental, or financial health. These solutions, though, can create new problems that must be considered and dealt with.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed on March 27th, 2020 was a massive effort to provide stability to the American people during this time. Scammers, however, have taken advantage of the information and misinformation swirling around the internet about the policies and procedures regarding the specifics of receiving this aid.
They have also taken advantage of the fact that many are socially distanced or isolated and may be more susceptible to deceptive social engineering through social media or dating apps. These particularly cruel scams, known as Romance Scams, are on the rise along with many other scams, and they can be extremely damaging to the victim, emotionally and financially.
Romance and Social Engineering
Many scams rely on hooking the victim through an emotion. Romance scams are extremely wicked in this regard, using trust and yearning for connection against the victim.
The scam works by tricking the target into believing they are interested in having an online relationship. This starts small, with just messages on social media or dating apps, but the fraudster eventually moves to take the relationship further by suggesting contacting through email, phone, or text.
As soon as trust is gained, the scammer will then lure the victim into different fraudulent activities. They may claim they need funds for certain issues that have come up and ask the victim to wire them money. They may have a struggling business that needs aid. They may have the victim fill out applications for grants or other pandemic relief using their sensitive personal information to commit fraud.
If the victim begins to feel the relationship is suspicious, the scammer will typically react negatively and make them feel awful for questioning, manipulating the victim even further.
Romance scams are particularly damaging because they not only affect the victim financially, but the emotional fallout is extremely stressful. Many victims of this scam will feel ashamed to reach out for help.
Some Social Engineering is Subtle
Romance scams are extreme cases, but social engineering is often just a simple phone call from a scammer posing as someone else and simply asking for personal information. They may pose as a bank representative and ask to verify a social security number. One simple mistake of giving out personal information to a scammer can cause lots of grief when trying to fix the financial issues that arise.
Some of the red flags that should cause concern when someone is asking for personal information are:
- I don’t recognize the person contacting me. Whether it’s an email, phone call, or other method of communication, if they are a stranger extra caution should be taken to verify the sender’s identity.
- Was I expecting this email, phone call, etc.? Receiving an unsolicited email or phone call is extremely suspicious and warrants extra verification that the person reaching out is legitimate.
- Are they creating a false sense of urgency? Scammers work on emotions and rush victims to give up information or money before they can have a chance to verify or ask for someone else’s opinion. They will try to either create urgency through negative consequences or by using something valuable as a lure.
- What is my gut telling me? It’s important to trust intuition when dealing with someone who reaches out for payments, prizes, or sensitive information. A situation that feels funny is suspicious enough to be verified further.
Depending upon the method of contact there are different ways to tell if someone isn’t legitimate. Taking the extra time to verify the person reaching out will go a long way to ensure personal information or money isn’t stolen.
COVID-19 Relief Scams
Romance and social engineering are methods scammers use to deceive consumers out of their money, but COVID-19 relief is what many scammers are using as lure. While much of the relief has already been distributed since the CARES Act was signed in March, the possibility that more relief could be on the way in different forms creates the need to continue to be vigilant about possible scams.
These scams range from unemployment scams, PPP loan scams, grant scams, or debt relief scams. The important thing to remember is that these scams are rapidly evolving and will continue to evolve as the situation changes.
Protection strategies against COVID-19 relief scams will involve the same advice given for any type of scam. However, since some relief aid is legitimate and the procedure for getting the aid is sometimes confusing, many may falsely believe they are applying for the aid in the correct way. The best ways to avoid falling into a trap are:
- Contacting and applying for funds should only be done through the proper legitimate organization that is disbursing these funds or aid.
- Never give out personal information to just anyone that claims to represent that organization.
- Verify the legitimacy of an email or phone call by visiting the official organization website and finding correct contact information.
- Never click on links in an unexpected email without first verifying through a trusted source that it is legitimate.
- Even if it is a trusted friend or acquaintance offering you an application for a grant/relief, take an extra step to verify that it is legitimate (and still only fill any application by going through the correct source).
There are resourceful websites that can help differentiate the difference between legitimate aid and a scam. These websites also periodically post updates as the situation changes and scammers try new techniques.
Bookmark these websites for informational resources on COVID-19 relief:
Protecting against scams of any type is an ongoing struggle. Keeping an eye on friends and family members can help minimize the impact some of these scams have. Showing support for someone who has been a victim can help them come forward, share their story, and start them back on the path to fixing their financial and mental well-being.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a scam, don’t hesitate to report it to the relevant authority. Visit this website to learn where to begin.