2019 marked the onset of a major pandemic that changed the lifestyle of people around the world. From all physical classes being shifted and confined to the rectangular screens to not being able to step out without a mask over your face, the coronavirus has claimed many lives in such a short span of time. However, claiming lives and stealing major parts of our lives from us, the pandemic has also stolen tonnes of money from people around the world in the name of coronavirus scams. In a time when people should be helping each other to get things back to normal, these scammers are finding new ways every day to scam innocent people out of their hard-earned money. Do you want to know more about the different types of coronavirus scams and tips on how to avoid them? Read on to find out!
Types of Coronavirus Scams:
In the coronavirus scam itself, there are various types of scams. In this segment, we will only be discussing the most common types of coronavirus scams.
Fake vaccine and other remedies:
As the name suggests, in these types of scams, the criminals will put up posts on social media and sponsor advertisements claiming to provide an advance booking on the vaccination or deliver vaccination to the homes of the customers. Fooled by this, many people proceed to click on the links and continue with the payment hoping to get vaccinated faster. However, as expected, these people do not get the vaccine from the place they ordered. In other cases, scammers claim to be running an organization with various doctors. They will further claim to have home remedies to cure the virus. They might also provide a discount to the customers. Excited by the offer, the innocent people proceed with the payment and book an appointment. Such scammers will either not schedule the meeting and run away or give a useless and common remedy to the customers.
Fake Financial help:
Such scams are mostly directed at the people who have recovered from coronavirus and are in a troublesome financial situation. The scammers will call such people and claim to be from a government-regulated firm. They will further let the customer know that their claim for the “covid grant” has been approved. Readers must note that, in such cases, you need to be extremely careful of where you fill in your details. The scam brokers will ask you for a fee in the name of completing some formalities at the end of which you will be given a huge amount as the covid grant. As expected, the money never reaches the poor customers and puts them in a greater debt trap.
How to avoid coronavirus scams?
- Avoid offers on other websites for vaccination. Always rely on government websites for information on vaccinations.
- Do not fall for the remedy offered on social media. All of this is a scam.
- Do not click on the links or download files from an email that looks completely random.
- Never share your personal information such as ID number, credit card number, etc.
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