New Fraud Schemes During The Pandemic

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Banks warn of new fraud schemes during pandemic

The most common type of fraud is fraudulent theft of someone else's property. From year to year new sophisticated schemes appear, aimed at extortion of funds. The pandemic has given criminals another opportunity to profit at someone else's expense. We have compiled a few examples for you of how exactly scammers can try to take over your money.

Suspicious SMS

Each of us has experienced telephone scams. At the moment, there is an opportunity to intimidate a person on supposedly legal grounds.

For example, Uncle Vasya is sitting at home. Occasionally goes outside. Now for groceries, then just to breathe. It seems like it is believed that it violates the regime of self-isolation. By himself, he is a law-abiding person, but unless you sit at home all the time. At one point, he receives a message on his phone: “Unauthorized exit from home recorded. You have been fined 4,000 rubles. Pay for such and such number. If no payment is made within 24 hours, a case will be opened against you. This is how you can easily make a person pay into a thief's pocket.

Coronavirus test

Another scheme implemented against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

There was a call from an unknown number. Masha picks up the phone. The caller is a spokesman for the Covid-19 counterparts. Persistently claims that this citizen had the imprudence to be in the same place with a sick person. In order to protect Masha, she is offered a paid test to determine the coronavirus. The procedure will cost a certain amount of money (usually they call a figure of about 5,000 rubles). For the analysis, a specialist will be sent to your home, of course, after payment. Masha starts to panic. Until the woman realized what was happening, the scammers gave details for payment. Nobody will come after the transaction. And Masha will not be able to reach this number.

Miracle pills

The lion's share of the population was locked up. At the same time, there are no fewer people with serious illnesses. This can be used by criminals to sell pills to citizens "for all diseases."

Baba Katya suffers from cardiovascular diseases. They call her from the clinic. The attending physician notifies the old woman about the admission to the hospital of the drug, which, for the full course of treatment, will relieve her of the disease. The price for a pack of pills will be 3000 rubles, 5 packs are needed for the course. The trusting woman Katya agrees. The money is in the pocket of the intruders, and the woman bought a dummy.

Social payments

In order to crank up a money fraud with success, you need to get into a person's pain point. At the moment, such a point is the loss of a job.

Misha worked at a company that has suspended its operations due to coronavirus infection. The organization hurried up and, in an orderly tone, asked employees to write vacation applications at their own expense. Thus, he was left without work and without money for an indefinite period.

Misha gets a call from the Population Support Fund. They offer to issue social payments remotely. To transfer financial assistance, he needs to provide a phone number and a three-digit code on the back of the card. In a few minutes Misha will lose the remaining money on the account.

How to protect yourself from scammers

You need to protect yourself from such sad scenarios. Pay attention to the following:

1. To issue a fine for unauthorized leaving the house, the patrol must stop a person on the street and find out where and for what reasons he is going. If the information came via SMS - do not panic and don’t transfer money. Moreover, to the phone number. The authorities provide bank details to pay fines. You can pay remotely only on the State Services portal.
2. Medical organizations do offer to take a coronavirus test at home. The service is paid, but you must apply yourself. If you receive a suspicious call: specify the full name of the organization, and then call them back yourself, using the number from the directory and clarify the situation.
3. Decent clinics and hospitals do not call their patients, offering to buy "miracle pills". Check with the attacker which institution he is calling from, find out the name of the doctor and the name of the drug. Call the hospital yourself using a number from the telephone directory. Most likely, they will tell you that such a doctor does not work for them. And even if it does work, it does not sell medicines “from under the table”. Consult the medication, read the instructions. In practice, this will turn out to be a dietary supplement, at best.
4. Never give passwords from SMS to make payments and a three-digit code on the back of the card to third parties. Only you can use this data. Governmental organizations are strictly enforcing data protection requirements. They know not to ask for passwords and a three-digit code.