By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Crises, especially national crises, nearly always spawn scams.
The COVID-19 crisis is no different.
The Internal Revenue Service is warning consumers about a wide variety of scams which have cropped up, latching on both to the coronavirus crisis and the Congressional response to the economic downturn it caused.
“As you know, scammers will take advantage of any situation they can to make money,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steve Slazinik in the IRS St. Louis Field Office tells St. Joseph Post. “And, a worldwide health pandemic is no different. Lately, we have been seeing the scammers taking a variety of different steps to steal your money and steal your identity.”
Con artists are trying to pry personal information from consumers by claiming it is needed to process COVID-19 economic stimulus payments authorized by Congress. Others are latching on to the coronavirus itself, offering fake at-home test kits, selling fraudulent cures, pushing fake pills and vaccines, even giving advice on unproven COVID-19 treatments. At least one scam offers medical supplies online, taking money and never providing the product.
Phony charities have popped up soliciting donations from unsuspecting consumers.
Many times phishing emails and texts will ask you to click on a link. Don’t do it. Once you click on a link, the scammer can get valuable information.
Slazinik says not to fall for any of it.
“I would like to warn your audience to make sure that everybody stays vigilant and be cautious of the scammers and if it does sound suspicious, it likely is,” according to Slazinik. “For instance, the IRS will not call or ask you to verify your payment details. So, do not give out your bank account information or other account information even if someone claims it’s necessary to get the check or to get the payment. It’s a scam.”
The IRS corresponds with taxpayers through the mail.
If a con artist succeeds in getting personal information, it can be used in a variety of ways. Sometimes, they use it to simply file a false tax return.
“They could also use your information you provide related to your bank account information and utilize that to just make fraudulent purchases or steal the money directly from your bank account,” Slazinik says.
Slazinik says consumers shouldn’t fall for any of the scams and, if they come across any, report it to the federal government.
COVID-19 scams can be reported to the National Center for Disaster Fraud by clicking here for its website or by calling its hotline at 1-866-720-5721. Scams related to the economic stimulus payment can be reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration by clicking here for its website. Report phishing attempts to [email protected].
For more, click here for the IRS Report Phishing and Online Scams page.