Scammers have stolen nearly $100 million from Americans who were duped by schemes connected to the coronavirus pandemic since it began earlier this year, with most of the scams related to online shopping, travel or vacations, credit cards, banks, and text messages, according to a new report.
Victims have even been scammed out of money for a cure for the virus itself or about the government stimulus checks intended to help them make ends meet during nationwide closures, according to a Reuters report quoting Federal Trade Commission data posted by the consumer protection blog Social Catfish.
Overall, there have been more than 150,000 reports about scams since Jan. 1, costing an average of $273 per person.
One of the most common scams involves a robocall claiming to be from the IRS and asking for a bank account number to be used for depositing a stimulus check. Others have advertised their own programs by putting pamphlets on cars or through emails or letters. In one case, a man in Florida said he was sent a fake check for $3,000.
In other cases, shoppers are being promised free or cheap groceries, but after they disclose their bank or credit information, no groceries are being delivered. According to Social Catfish, shoppers should be wary of offers of cleaning, household, health, or medical supplies, as those are the products usually associated with scams.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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