Avoiding Potential Scams during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic

      It is no secret that con artists, scammers, and other nefarious actors prey on fear and vulnerability. The outbreak of COVID-19 has been no exception. The sudden and rapid spread of COVID-19 has allowed con artists and scammers across the United States to take advantage of nervous and vulnerable families. These scams have ranged from selling counterfeit vaccinations for COVID-19 itself to impersonating members of the CDC or WHO in order to obtain personal information. Unfortunately, scammers are mindful of the fact that COVID-19 has been affecting the elderly most significantly, and often use this to their advantage.

    There is also reportedly a rapid increase of credit card scams as scammers are calling panicked and vulnerable people every day fraudulently stating that they can receive $1,000 per each adult household member and$500 for each child household member if they simply relay their credit card information over the phone.

        

    Tax season has also given scammers another outlet into obtaining personal information. Scammers are increasingly using tax season to obtain bank information from susceptible individuals. An increasingly common scam involves impersonating a bank employee and asking unsuspecting people for personal information such as Social Security numbers and other information in order to steal their identities.

    There have also been reports of scammers impersonating Human Resource Department managers and requesting W-2 forms from dozens of employees at a time in an attempt to fraudulently obtain financial information.

   In order to combat these increasing dangers, it is important to exercise extreme caution when dealing with solicitations and emails:

• Be mindful of any “Miracle Drug” that someone claims can immediately cure or treat COVID-19. There remains no vaccine for this new virus, so any claims of a vaccine are fraudulent.

• Take notice of who is sending you a solicitation via email. An email address can often look suspicious on its face, but others can look like one being sent from an employer or a source that you trust. To examine further, try performing a Google search on the sender’s email address. This will likely bring up any scams that the particular email address has performed in the past.

• Any solicitation that requires urgent action will typically be fraudulent. If you receive a phone call that claims a “limited time offer” or email with the subject that reads “URGENT” it will likely be a scam.

• Install an antivirus program on your device, which will effectively protect you against suspicious emails and solicitations.

• If you receive a suspicious phone call and you may suspect it is a scam, hang up immediately. The longer they have you on the line, the more likely they are to obtain your personal information.

   If you feel that the authenticity of a solicitation can be questioned, you can report suspicious solicitations by calling (312) 814-2595. For COVID-19 related scams, Illinois residents can call the state’s consumer fraud hotline at 1 (800) 243-0618.

   If you have any questions about tax and estate planning, please feel free to contact Glick and Trostin, LLC at 312-346-8258.

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