LANSING, Mich. — New data is showing a dramatic rise in COVID-19 related scams. That’s resulted in hundreds of thousands of Americans losing millions of dollars. Alicia Nieves shows us the kinds of COVID-19 scams that are out there and how to avoid falling victim to one.
Millions of Americans either at home trying to figure out how to pay their mounting bills or out looking for work while worried about exposure to a deadly virus. The troubling state of society is proving beneficial to one particular group: scammers.
"It makes sense that Americans are feeling that kind of economic and financial pressure, it is just really terrible that scammers are taking advantage of that.”
Lucy Baker is with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a watchdog organization based in D.C. that has been tracking COVID-19 related scams since May.
In May it found around 50,000 COVID-19 scams had been reported in the FTC’s database. Last month it jumped to over 200,000 and “there are companies that are pretending to sell cures or prevent, even PPE that is supposed to work better.”
“We have also seen people receiving flyers in the mail, this is a true story, ‘coronavirus relief go to actual business’ when you go to it is actually a used car dealership.”
The average most victims lost $300, but that number doubles ($600) for victims 80 years and older. So organizations like the Department of Justice and AARP have put out top tips to avoid falling for a COVID-19 scam.
As Baker shares “My biggest tip is to do your homework. if you receive any kind of communication that seems off, smells fishy, it is too good to be true, it probably is.
“My second tip would be again to be vigilant. ” The more you are aware that something like this could happen to you the more likely you are to be able to stop it.”
“Lastly, most organizations recommend if you fall victim to a scam, report it, regardless of how much money was lost or how embarrassed you may feel. It is what authorities need to find and stop a scammer.
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