Since the start of the pandemic, Americans have lost a total of $586 million because of COVID-19 scams! Older people were amongst the most vulnerable to these acts of fraud.
Here’s what we all still need to keep an eye out for.
Several websites targeted scared people and sold masks, toilet paper, gloves, and hand sanitizer at ridiculous prices. And then never delivered.
When products were delivered, they were ineffective or extremely low quality.
Some scammers have been selling fake vaccine cards, which are already illegal – but they use them to steal your identity.
Others have made money selling fake “cures” for COVID-19 like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.
The elderly have been especially targeted. Scammers profit off their fear and use their lack of technology experience to get millions out of them. These range from robocalls to e-mail “phishing” to fake COVID-19 websites that charge for vaccine or testing appointments.
The pandemic is hopefully nearly over, but the millions of dollars lost to scams aren’t coming back. And they’re not done scamming – make sure you and your loved ones know what to look out for, and keep yourselves and your money safe!