Unfortunately, there are many people, mostly elderly adults, who are getting scammed over COVID-19 issues. During this pandemic, there have been thousands and thousands of people who have been scammed financially. It is important to make sure your elderly loved one knows how to fact-check the information that they receive regarding COVID-19. This is especially true when it comes to any money that is coming from “the government”. Yes, people have gotten stimulus checks. However, there are scammers who try to convince people that if they give out their bank account information to them over the phone or by email, they will get money. This is not how the government is doing things.
Fraud by Telephone
There are scammers who are trying to fraud people by telephone. They may call someone saying they are from the CDC and they have a cure that someone can purchase. They may also say they are from the government and if someone gives them their bank account information, they will send them money. It is important to talk to your elderly loved one about the telephone scams that are going around right now. There are not currently treatments that are being offered to people by phone. The government is not calling people to say they will give out money in this manner, either. If your elderly loved one gets a phone call and they are questioning it, they should talk to you or their elderly care providers to see what should be done. The best thing you can do is to have your elderly loved one hang up on automated phone calls or don’t answer the phone for numbers they don’t know.
Scams by Email
There are millions of people who have received COVID-19 scam emails. The CDC is telling people to watch out for these emails. Scammers are emailing people claiming they are the CDC. The email will tell the person to open the attached document about how to stop COVID-19 from spreading. It is important that your elderly loved one knows not to do this. The attached files are likely viruses that will invade the personal information they have on their computer. In most of these cases, when someone does get the virus on their computer, they will then get an email saying if they pay money they can get the virus removed. Make sure your elderly loved one knows not to do this, either. Your elderly loved one should never click on emails or attachments from people they do not know.
Fake Testing for COVID-19
Your elderly loved one should also be aware of the fake COVID-19 testing scams. There are people who are trying to get money from people after claiming they have a test, preventative, or cure for COVID-19. This is not something that the CDC or any other government official has at this time.
If you can talk to your elderly loved one about the COVID-19 scams, they are less likely to fall victim to these scammers. Give them information about these types of scams today.
Sources
https://www.fcc.gov/covid-scams
If you are considering elderly care in Paw Paw, MI, for an aging loved one, please call the caring staff at Fresh Perspective Home Care at (269) 329-4717. We are here to help!
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