The $ 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is complex legislation that will unleash a huge wave of money, a combination that is likely to raise questions among consumers and opportunities for fraudsters.
From telephone banks abroad and domestic locations, scammers are always present today. The calls and e-mails are incessant, while looking for unintended victims who will click on a link in a phishing e-mail or believe the guy who calls and claims to be from Microsoft and needs remote access to their computers to save them from a terrible threat.
The American Rescue Plan, and the $ 1,400 payments and child tax credits that come with it, offer a new opportunity for these unscrupulous entrepreneurs to explore.
“Scammers are hoping to take advantage of consumers seeking help from the American Rescue Plan,” warned the SC Department of Consumer Affairs last week.
Some of the precautions suggested by the agency may seem like just common sense, but scammers continue to cheat because many idiots fall into their devices.
Among the tips:
- No government agency will ask you to pay upfront fees to receive payment for the stimulus. If someone contacts you saying it is from a government agency, hang up. This is a scam. Consumers must also be wary of promises to get the money now; there is no way to speed up when stimulus checks arrive.
- Scammers tend to impersonate government agencies to gain their trust. Fraudsters may try to get you to verify information such as your bank account number, Social Security number or credit card information. Never give out private information to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
- No legitimate company or agency will ask for unusual forms of payment, such as gift cards, cryptocurrencies or wire transfers. Scammers like these forms of payment because they are difficult to track.
- Never open links in emails or texts from sources you don’t know. Clicking on them can install malware or other dangerous programs on your computer or digital device.
To contact the SCDCA, visit www.consumer.sc.gov or call 800-922-1594. The agency is not the only one to warn of fraud last week.
“The scammers are in full force now, with the tax season, along with the stimulus checks coming out, the scams have increased in speed!” said Chip Googe of the Mount Pleasant Police Department, on Twitter March 18.
Googe said a local woman received a call from someone who claimed to represent the Social Security Administration, saying that her Social Security number and bank account were about to be frozen and that an arrest warrant would be issued. Unless, of course, she bought gift cards from Apple and provided the necessary data to redeem them.
Scammers often pressure their victims to buy gift cards and provide the information needed to rescue them. Archive / AP
As implausible as this scenario may seem, this kind of thing happens regularly, and a sufficient number of frightened or confused people fall for these scams so that the bandits continue, always looking for more victims.
Charles Francis, of the Charleston Police Department, warned on March 18 that “several citizens received calls from someone who identified himself as a lieutenant with the Charleston Police Department in reference to a serious matter.”
It wasn’t, of course.
“This is telephone fraud,” said Francis.
Catch up David Slade at 843-937-5552. Follow him on Twitter @DSladeNews.