6 tricks of scammers that even smart people fall for during a pandemic

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Old schemes are now taking on a new look, so it is important to remain vigilant.

1. Buy a miracle cure for coronavirus

In January 2020, OTCPharm launched an advertisement stating that its drug Arbidol was effective in treating coronavirus. Sales of the product grew by 24%, but the Federal Antimonopoly Service became interested in the advertising campaign and recognized this approach as a violation of the law. After all, there is no scientific evidence that Arbidol is effective in the treatment of COVID-19.

Scammers have also begun to mislead people via the Internet, allegedly offering them diagnostic tools for coronavirus and vaccines.

How not to get caught

Remember that there is no cure or vaccine for coronavirus yet. When they appear, you can get them from medical institutions as prescribed by a doctor, not from dubious online vendors.

2. WHO warns

Scammers send out emails claiming to be from the World Health Organization. They urge people to follow the link to find out the latest information about the epidemic or to make a donation for the victims of the coronavirus.

The user clicks on the link and is taken to a phishing site. If a person enters personal information on it, it ends up in the hands of intruders who can use it to steal money from personal accounts.

How not to get caught

Don't follow links from unknown senders. Check email addresses and be careful about URLs: a real web resource can be distinguished from a phishing one by one letter. You can get up-to-date information from WHO on its own on its official or in accounts on social networks.

3. Open, disinfection

No, we are not talking about mythical bandits who lull everyone with gas and steal what they have acquired with back-breaking labor. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities, scammers have appeared who offer to disinfect apartments and stairwells in residential buildings for money. Representatives of the authorities and management companies say that such advertisements are not disseminated and disinfection is carried out only in public places, but not in residential premises.

Therefore, it is completely incomprehensible who will come to a person under the guise of a disinfectant. At best, it can be a swindler who will process the apartment with an unknown solution and take money for it, and at worst, a burglar. As in the well-known fraudulent scheme with gasmen or electricians.

How not to get caught

Don't open the door to strangers who are pushing you for services. If you see a suspicious ad, call the management company and ask if they have anything to do with it.

4. We are volunteers, we want to help

Many during the coronavirus epidemic began to help older people who are at risk and should not leave their homes. For example, volunteers buy and bring them food and medicine. But, unfortunately, there were those who built a fraudulent scheme around this.

Attackers pose as volunteers or social workers and offer retirees to buy food for them. And then they just disappear with the money. Or they can trick into the apartment and rob the victim.

How not to get caught

Usually, volunteers do not call or come to their wards just like that. For example, volunteers from the "" project need to leave an application and receive an identification number for it. It must be named when you come home to an elderly person.

Warn your grandparents: if they have not applied to volunteer services and are not waiting for volunteers, you do not need to open the door to strangers and talk to them.

5. We will refund money for tickets

Due to the pandemic, many flights have been canceled. People want to get the money back for tickets as soon as possible, and immediately there were scammers who decided to take advantage of this. They call on behalf of the airlines, offer to transfer funds for the canceled flight and ask them to name the bank card details, the three-digit code on the back and the SMS password. And then, having this data, they can transfer money from your card to another account.

How not to get caught

Do not tell anyone the CVC of your bank card and confirming SMS codes. To transfer money to your account, this information is not needed, only scammers are trying to get it. If someone calls you on behalf of an organization, ask the other person to wait and enter the phone number into a search engine. Or break the conversation and call back yourself to the number indicated on the official website of the company.

6. We will arrange a credit vacation

On April 3, 2020, Vladimir Putin signed the law on credit holidays due to COVID-19. According to it, not only those who pay the mortgage, but also those who have consumer and car loans will be able not to make payments or reduce their size for up to six months. True, there are a number of conditions. The loan amount should not exceed 1.5 million for a mortgage, 250 thousand for a consumer loan for individuals, 600 thousand for a car loan and 100 thousand for a credit card. In addition, a deferral is given if you were given money before the law came into force, and your income in the last month fell by at least 30% compared to the average monthly income for 2019. For example, due to job loss, wage cut, illness.

Not all debtors meet these conditions, and many would like to get a break. And then enterprising "consultants" come to the rescue, who promise to resolve all issues for a fee, negotiate with the bank, and sometimes even falsify income certificates and sick leaves. Of course, in fact, no one will decide anything and the bank will not accept fake papers.

How not to get caught

Don't give money for questionable services. If your situation meets the conditions described in the legislation, you can arrange credit holidays without any intermediaries. If not, alas, you still have to make payments.

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