At this point in time, who couldn’t use a little extra cash? The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated a significant number of jobs and opportunities, which is why scammers are working overtime to prey on people’s desperation.
And their efforts, it seems, are paying off. Scams are on the rise in almost every corner of the web, and numerous agencies — government-affiliated or otherwise — are warning everyone to stay alert. Tap or click here to see where all the fraud and cybercrime is coming from.
If you’re using Facebook right now, you may end up running into a dangerous scam without realizing it. Multiple Facebook users have reported getting messages from friends describing high-value “COVID-19 relief grants” worth up to $1,000. But the profiles sending these messages appear to have been hacked, and if you play ball with scammers, you could end up losing money.
According to an urgent new alert from the Better Business Bureau, a bizarre scam is making the rounds on Facebook that has already cost victims significant amounts of money.
These scammers are posing as familiar contacts or relatives of their victims and offering “financial relief grants” worth upwards of $1,000. If you take the bait, the scammers request personal information from you and demand an upfront “processing fee” in order to send you the money. But if you send them the fee, the conversation ends — and the money you sent is as good as gone.
This scam, like many others on social media, is pure social engineering. The scammers behind it are taking advantage of people’s financial misfortunes in order to lure them in, and pretending to be trusted contacts can make it even harder to avoid getting tricked.
How are the scammers getting away with making these fake profiles? As it turns out, most of them are simply picking their victims and selecting someone from their friend’s list to copy. The BBB claims many of the profiles pulling the scam off are either hacked accounts or duplicates created with stolen images and data.
So the next time you get a message from someone claiming to know you, you’ll want to be extra careful about engaging with them. They might not even be the person you believe they are.
And to think, this isn’t even the first scam revealed by the Better Business Bureau in recent weeks.
Tap or click here to see why the BBB is warning people about buying puppies online.
Businesses across the country have been suffering since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. With so many stuck at home, many smaller shops and stores have been forced to close, and several are on the brink of collapse.
Small-biz boost: Amazon is giving over $250,000 in grants to small businesses that earn less than $1 million per year. Plus, it’s rolling out a new Small Business Success Studio — think free tutorials on loan applications and website optimization. Applications close May 24.
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