Although we are seeing the best of humanity during the coronavirus pandemic, people helping people, reaching out, watching out for each other, there are some people who are trying to take advantage of our fears.
Combine robocalls and coronavirus and what do you get? People taking advantage of others.
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Youmail, a call-screening app, says there’s been a surge in robocall messages concerning COVID-19. Don’t be fooled if someone offers you a vaccine. There is no vaccine and there won’t be for at least a year. Youmail says there’s also been a rip-off robocall promoting an Amazon work-from-home scam that claims to pay $400 a day. There is no such job.
And don’t get sucked in online. Consumer affairs reports there’s an increase in emails from fake public health agencies asking for donations. Do your own online research and report any scams by going to the websites of the Federal Trade Commission or the Office of the Attorney General.
Be alert to “investment opportunities.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is warning people about online promotions, including on social media, claiming that the products or services of publicly-traded companies can prevent, detect, or cure coronavirus and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result.