Criminals Posing as Treasury Department Officials
in New Email Stimulus Scam
Criminals posing as U.S. Treasury officials are sending emails requesting that victims provide personal information in order to receive COVID-19 stimulus money, according to a U.S. Secret Service alert obtained by CNBC on Wednesday
“As with other aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudsters are exploiting the relief and stimulus to victimize the public. The U.S. Secret Service is observing a rise in stimulus relief fraud over the past several days and expect the fraud attempts to continue throughout the pandemic,” the alert said.
The alert, sent to law enforcement and banking officials, said the phony emails, which appear to come from the U.S. Treasury, state that, “You are among the First Email ID Batch to receive payment of $450,000 on this exercise, the purpose of these funds is to give relief to the global citizens of the world due to coronavirus pandemic…”
The email goes on to say, “You have been assigned a Senior supervisor Agent who will handle your filing and also monitor the processing of your funds release.“The email asks for personal information including the recipient’s name, address, date of birth, and profession.
Always be on you guard about things like this and don't give out your personal information.
Scammers Posing as CDC and Census Workers
Several local Florida law enforcement agencies have issued alerts regarding hucksters in white lab coats and masks impersonating federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workers, knocking on doors and offering free COVID-19 tests in exchange for personal information.
The state’s attorney general’s office is warning about criminals impersonating U.S. Census workers and going door-to-door to fraudulently collect personal information while also canvassing for empty homes to rob.
FAKE CORONAVIRUS CHARITIES
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa is reporting a rash of “fake coronavirus charities, fraudulent health-care billing schemes, robocalls offering medical supplies with no intent to deliver, and fake testing kits, treatments or cures for COVID-19,” as well as “phishing emails that could contain malware.”
It’s a pandemic and it’s Florida so, of course, Sunshine State scammers are scheming at a pot-boiling pace.
Rackets range from elaborate health worker, CDC, Census Bureau and cable installer imposters at front doors to text messages, phone calls and emails – such as one reported by the attorney general's office Wednesday that falsely said Floridians must respond to the 2020 Census before receiving federal coronavirus stimulus payments. The email included a link to a fake U.S. Census Bureau website, where people were asked to provide sensitive personal information.
“Scammers will try anything to steal from consumers, and with the stimulus payments on the way and a mandatory Census count underway, there is a perfect storm of fraud opportunities,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a consumer alert Wednesday. “Floridians need to stay informed about the Census count and educate themselves about the coronavirus stimulus package, so they will not be easily tricked by scammers trying use the news to make a dishonest dollar.”
Moody said the state is dedicating the same resources to sifting out scams as it is to gutting price-gougers.
Since creating the Consumer Protection Division’s rapid response team to monitor and respond to price-gouging reports March 10, Moody's office has issued more than 50 subpoenas, deactivated more than 100 online posts and secured more than $79,000 in direct refunds for consumers.
As of Tuesday, the attorney general's office said it had fielded more than 1,200 consumer complaints and contacted merchants about 1,900 allegations of price-gouging, refunds and scams. Violators face fines of $1,000 per violation and up to a $25,000 for multiple violations committed in a single 24-hour period.
At least 40 of those subpoenas have been served to third-party sellers on Amazon, including some who are accused of increasing prices by up to 1,662 percent on items such as face masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectants.
Moody praised Amazon for its participation in the investigation and its “commitment to helping us stop third-party vendors trying to use its online platform to exploit the crisis.”
Tampa U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez said Tuesday her office will join forces with Moody and local law enforcement agencies across the state to form a federal fraud task force that “will prioritize the investigation and prosecution of crimes related to COVID-19.”
Moody said even before Congress passed the $2 trillion relief package last week, scammers in text messages were hawking claim “links” that either siphoned their personal information or contained malware.
“Be skeptical of any unsolicited messages from strangers asking you to click links or provide personal information to receive benefits,” Moody said.
Florida residents can report such scams to the attorney general’s office by calling 1-866-966-7226 (9NO-SCAM) or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.
