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So we have a Pandemic, a corona virus, COVID-19.
So this would be a time for everyone to pull together, obey government directives aimed at keeping us safe and help those that need it most.
RIGHT?
Well you would think so but apparently not for everyone. Otherwise I wouldn’t be trying to get this message out about the danger of scams to look out for, in such a hurry.
Most countries are in lockdown situations, which means non essential businesses have closed. People are ordered to stay home and isolate themselves as much as is humanly possible. But on their own many become more fearful, reading fake and real news, not knowing the difference.
What we need to do is realise that yes the situation is serious and that we need to follow govt advice to keep ourselves and others safe.
The important thing to remember is that life goes on and nothing lasts forever.
Beware!
So we have a worldwide pandemic and what happens?
All the bottom feeders appear, the low lifes, whatever you want to call them. Under the guise of helping they scam unsuspecting people at a time when we should all be helping each other.
These are the scams to look out for.
From the official BBC News website. Read the full article HERE!
- Councils are warning people to beware of scammers pretending to be health officials or offering to pick up food and medicines.
- Fraudsters are also selling counterfeit face masks and hand sanitisers, says the LGA, which speaks for councils in England and Wales.
- Hand sanitiser containing an ingredient banned for human use six years ago has been seized in Birmingham.
- The LGA is advising people not to accept help from cold-callers.
- This means being suspicious of anyone who offers help, either online or in person, the Local Government Association warned, after councils in Rochdale and south London received reports of attempted scams.
- Action Fraud, which receives reports of fraudulent activity, says victims of online scams have lost £960,000 in 105 coronavirus-linked cases since the beginning of February.
- The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau says it has recorded 200 cases of fraudulent emails being sent, which include scammers who:
- pretend to be from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or World Health Organization, asking recipients to click a link to report active infections in their area
- offer links to a fake daily newsletter for Covid-19 updates
- offer fake insurance schemes and trading advice
- pretend to be from the government, offering tax refunds
Learn to distinguish which is fake and which is real.
Save yourself a lot of heartache and problems.
- Always check the name of the website, is it correct or is there an extra dot or line in the name? There is usually something that shows its fake.
- Does the web address contain the name of a product? Official websites never have products in the name.
- Take careful note of the the logo. Webshops with only “Shopping” – “Online” – “Brand” are created hundreds and thousands at a time.
- Be extra careful with designer clothes and brand shoes. High discounts and everything in stock.
- Pay careful attention to sentences that don’t seem right and look for errors in the language.
- A fake webshop/website has no contact information and rarely has an About page. If it does have a phone number, call it to see if it’s a working number. Send an email to the mail address, with fake addresses you will get an undelivered message from your provider.
- You can usually only pay with a credit card.
- Trustmarks, like so many things, are forged on a large scale. Always double check to see if they are correct.
How to check for the Truth?
How and where to check. This is important for so much of the information circulating on social media is wrong. If you want the latest true facts about COVID-19, these are worth checking out and sharing.
Snopes is the original fact-checking website: if it’s not true, then Snopes has probably written it up. Other fact-checking websites are also worth checking regularly: Full Fact is a British website that can be trusted, while Channel 4 News has its own FactCheck website.
Check that your website, if you have one, is secure and that your hosting side has good security. I am on Wealthy Affiliate platform. Read HERE for what it offers. The offer has gone but the site information is up to date
Conclusion.
So what have we learned? Hopefully enough to make you think before opening emails and clicking on links.
Sometimes though we are in a rush and don’t think about it. What then? As long as you don’t click the links, you will be fine.
Try to make it second nature when opening emails. The more you practice, the better you will get.
It’s a very sad world when the first thing some people think of is how to scam others out of anything they can.
So stay alert, always be wary but overall remember that there are more good people out there than bad.
Thank you for visiting and reading this post. I hope you found it helpful. Please share so others can be made aware.
Comments and questions welcome.
