March 16, 2020
Scammers use unique and difficult times to trick individuals out of their cash. Protect yourself by staying alert and following these important tips:
- Be on the lookout for scammers pretending to be with health care or disease control agencies.
- Be suspicious of offers made by email, text or phone. If you did not initiate the contact, it could be a scammer.
- Do not click on links within an email or text. Many scammers create spoofed websites and send links that will take you to an unsafe site.
- Remember that many times fraudulent emails will contain grammatical errors.
- Consider dealing with local charities when making donations to ensure that your funds are going to a legitimate cause.
- Do not release personal information over the phone or by text or email when you have not initiated the contact.
- Be aware of requests to send funds by wire, Western Union or ACH debit. Also watch out for appeals to purchase gift cards or Google Pay cards.
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If in doubt, don’t do it!