The unsolicited phone calls tout everything from
miracle cures to financial relief – here's how you can stay safe
The public concern and
confusion surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have offered an array of
opportunities for con artists, who have pulled every trick from their books to
cash in on people – including by dint of robocalls. A recent survey
conducted by senior services company Provision Living and involving 4,038 Americans speaks volumes
in this regard.
“Nearly a quarter of
respondents said they’ve experienced an increase in robocalls since COVID-19
and 1 in 5 people have received a robocall regarding COVID-19,” said the
survey. Most commonly, the robocalls and text messages claimed to provide
treatment (22%), financial relief (18%), and free COVID-19 testing (18%).
To be sure, this won’t
surprise our regular readers, who are by now well aware of coronavirus-themed
scams that involve fake
charities, bogus
testing kits, credit
card-stealing websites, and
even extortion, to name just a few recurrent riffs on the same
theme.
But let’s go back to the
survey, which showed that two out of five callers claimed to represent the
Social Security Administration (SSA), 38% impersonated Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) officials, and over a third claimed to be from travel companies. These
all seem to be clever ruses since the pandemic has forced a lot of people to
cancel their vacation plans and some have fallen on hard times.
A total of 15% have
received a robocall regarding their stimulus checks from people claiming to be
from the IRS – it’s important to note that the IRS doesn’t
normally call people. Also, the
revenue service will not ask you to use a specific payment method (debit card,
gift card, wire, etc.) but will usually first mail the taxpayer a bill with any
taxes they owe.
Generally speaking, scams
involving the IRS aren’t all that uncommon; some cybercriminals attempt to
commit tax refund fraud by stealing other peoples’ identities using
robocalls as well.
The incessant robocalls
have had another adverse effect – over half of the respondents have become
fearful in answering calls from unrecognizable numbers, while 46% missed an
important call because they thought it was a robocall. On the other hand, the scams
have also encouraged vigilance; almost three-quarters of respondent Google an
unknown number before calling back.
How to
protect yourself
Here’s how you can avoid
falling prey to fraud facilitated by robocalls and scammy text messages:
· If you received a robocall, hang up and immediately
add it to the list of blocked numbers on your phone.
· You can list your number into a national do not
call registry or list. Here are the links to the various registries offering
the service – in the
United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
· Never divulge any personally identifiable
information such as your social security number, address, birthday, or tax
identification number if you are not sure who you are talking to.
· Always verify the identity of the caller – ask them
to identify themselves and then check this information with the organization
they are claiming to represent.
· Some network providers also offer their own fraud
and spam blocking apps, so you can check with them and download it to your
device. Alternatively, you can use a third-party app that provides the service,
but be sure to research it carefully.
· Also be sure to educate your family members about
the dangers of robocalls and fraudulent texts, especially the elder ones since
they are the most susceptible.