Covid-19 Scams

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Scams in their various guises have increased by around 400% in the last month; their primary intent being to get their hands on your hard-earned money by taking advantage and exploiting the fear that many of us feel at the moment.

The scams are not restricted to computer virus and phishing, the threat actors are using every possible method they can think of to take advantage of people – even calling door to door.

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What to watch out for:

There are too many scams popping up to name them individually, we can however broadly categorise and summarise them as things to be suspicious of.

Fake Advertisements:

The items in most demand are at the foremost of people’s minds currently and represent an ideal opportunity for the threat actors as a means to grab attention.

Be extra vigilant for any phone calls, emails, SMS messages or websites offering any of the following:

  • Adverts for protective masks.

  • Advertisements for sanitising gel.

  • Advertisements for vaccines (these do not currently exist)

  • Fake offers of free school meals

  • Fake offers of one-off payments from the government

Fake Charities

As testament to how low the criminals will stoop, at this time when many people are facing unemployment and are turning to charitable organisations for help, the threat actors seek to take advantage of this.

There have been numerous reports of scammers using the cover of representing a charity, either legitimate or fictitious, to try and get charitable folk to donate money. Be on your guard and refuse to deal with these representatives.

I am by no means suggesting you should not donate if you want to – just make sure you are doing it safely, charities are in need of money now more than ever and if you want to donate contact the charity yourself and arrange to make a donation – do not make donations through representatives that are canvasing door to door or by any other means.

Fake News

This is not directly harmful or seeking to gain financially in the same ways the scams do – the authors of fake news content seek to get you to click a link and visit their site, in doing so you earn them advertisement revenue.

It’s a concern with regards to people’s well-being more than anything as it creates fear and can induce panic in some. Take anything you see on social media with a pinch of salt and rely on reputable news sources for your information – don’t fall for the click-bait.

Tips to avoid scams

  • If you are faced with cold-callers think twice before answering the door and definitely do not let them into your home – social distancing means they shouldn’t be going door to door anyway.

  • Do not be intimidated by threats of legal action or any other type of threats – by all means contact the police if you feel you need to but to the scammer you are just one in a long line of numbers they are trying to scam – they cannot harm you or your family they are trying to scare you into believing them.

  • Never click links in emails or provide personal or financial information to anyone – your bank will never call you unannounced asking you to make payments over the phone – nor will anyone else without having communicated with you in other official ways first.

  • Only use legitimate news sources such as gov.uk or the NHS for information on Covid-19.

  • Maintain awareness: Details of new scams discovered relating to covid-19 can be found here: https://reassura.com/corona-virus-scams/