Scammers taking advantage of COVID-19
Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, August 11, 2020
- Grant County Health Department workers prepare COVID-19 test kits during the county’s curbside testing last month. County health officials confirmed last week that Grant County has the capacity to test 500 people.
Scammers continue to evolve, using the pandemic to deceive people with secret cures, fake contact tracers and more.
Oregon officials have created a website that provides details on some of the prevalent ways scammers are trying to get valuable information that authorities would not ask for if they were the real deal.
One common scam: false claims of a cure or vaccine against COVID-19, according to the state.
“Avoid sharing your personal or financial information based on panic or fear,” the state website recommends. “There are no miracle cures or approved vaccines at this time.”
It is also important to avoid opening emails or attachments from unknown sources because this can give scammers a chance to spread malware to the devices. Malware is malicious software that can be used to gain private information from a device.
Scammers are also posing as Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officers and attempting to issue thousands of dollars in fines with immediate payments needed, according to the state.
This is a false narrative because OSHA would never request immediate payment from business owners since it typically takes two weeks following the closing of an inspection to issue citations or fines, according to the state. Compliance officers also present their credentials to operators in charge at workplaces.
Scammers are also making calls and sending emails posing as contact tracers, looking for Social Security or bank information or to install malware onto a device through an email.
Legitimate tracers work for the local or state public health department and contact people by phone or letter, never ask for Social Security numbers, billing information or bank or credit card numbers, according to the state.
Since scammers call from around the world, it makes them difficult to track down when they do scam people, according to Mike Durr, chief of the John Day Police Department. Scammers also change phone numbers regularly and are always on the move.
Durr said one underlying motivation for scammers persistently calling people is the fact that it only takes scamming one person to make a payday.
“Scammers only have to get one or two people, and they make a couple hundred dollars in an hour,” said Durr. “It’s not about how many people they trick. It’s about how much they can get out of a person.”
There are many different ways scammers are using the pandemic to their advantage, but Durr said to always be cautious — if a phone call sounds too good to be true or sounds suspicious, then it’s probably a scam.
“Do not fall for these false claims,” the state website recommends. “Avoid sharing your personal information with anyone you do not know.”
“Scammers only have to get one or two people, and they make a couple hundred dollars in an hour. It’s not about how many people they trick. It’s about how much they can get out of a person.”
—Mike Durr, John Day police chief
