COVID-19 scams
COVID-19 scamsare scams whose cover story primarily relies on the existence of theCOVID-19 pandemic.They have been reported in multiple countries, primarily theUnited States,Canadaand theUnited Kingdom.
Within the United Kingdom there were many instances of companies contracted to provide COVID-19 testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPE), when the companies had direct ties to those in the UK parliament.
Initiation
[edit]COVID-19 scams are initiated in a variety of ways, such as byrobocalls,emails,fakeblogandsocial mediaposts[2]andtext messaging.[3]Researchers found that fear of COVID-19 and anxiety increased the success of phishing scams.[4]
Types of scams
[edit]Benefit/grant scams
[edit]In this variation of COVID-19 scams, the fraudster claims that the victim is eligible for a COVID-19 benefit payment. This scam is a derivative of theadvance-fee scam,where the scammer will ask the victim for a small payment in return for the 'benefit'. The scammer will then ask for further payments under the guise of problems, until the victim refuses to pay any further.[5][6][7][8][9]
Authority impersonation scams
[edit]TheUnited NationsWHOhas issued a warning that fraudsters posing as employees of the WHO were attempting to gain personal information throughphishing emailsand fake help lines.[10]
COVID-19 vaccination scams
[edit]In this variation, the fraudster will offer to sell the victim a 'COVID-19 vaccine' or treatment. Victims who fall for this scam reveal their personal information and payment information to the scammer. In one reported incident, victims in the UK were sent a text message purporting to be from theNational Health Servicewhich claimed that they were now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but needed to fill their personal details into an onlinephishingform to book a place on the program. Information lost by the victims included their debit card information, which was then used to withdraw funds from the victim's bank account. COVID-19 vaccination scams have been reported in various countries including theUnited Kingdom,[11]United States[12]andSingapore.[13][14][15][16][17][18]
COVID-19 testing scams
[edit]In this variation of COVID-19 scams, the fraudster claims they are authorized testing site that could offer COVID-19 test. But it require people to offer their health-related information. US department of Health and Human Services sent fraud alert to the public about fraud schemes.[19]
COVID-19 related stock scams
[edit]In theUnited States,victims were persuaded to buy stocks in companies which were claimed to be about to release a 'miracle cure' for COVID-19 through posts inFacebook.[20]The Independent reported that online adverts claimed to sell "vaccine bonds" purportedly linked to the US drug company and COVID-19 vaccine manufacturerPfizer,which were sold with a minimum of US$10,000 investment. Pfizer confirmed it had no links to these bonds.[21]
As of mid-December 2020, theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionhas suspended trading in 36 companies which claimed to have access to COVID-19 related materials such as testing kits and treatments.[20]
United Kingdom Fraud
[edit]The first published incident was in May 2020, where a healthcare firm was contracted to produce COVID-19 testing kits, however there was no competitive process to the contract and the healthcare firm hired aConservativeMPOwen Patersonas a consultant.[22]Subsequent contracts worth £1.7 billion to have been handed out without due process, prioritising those with connections within the government.[23]
Further issues appeared as there were issues with some of the masks purchased, leading to the removal of fifty million masks, a £252 million contract, as they did not meet the health standards provided by theNHS.In December 2020, a company was found to have provided £122 million worth of gowns that weren't used due to the slow approval process, which was hampered due to investigations into the companies origins, as it had been formed 6 weeks prior to the contract.
Losses
[edit]According to theFederal Trade Commission,from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to April 30, 2020, US$13.44M was lost in total due to coronavirus fraud.[24]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Covid 19 scam phone calls in UK; heatmap".RetrievedNovember 16,2021.
- ^Bellon, Tina (January 5, 2021)."A COVID-19 shot for $150? Online scams surge as slow vaccine rollout frustrates".Reuters.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^Brown, Aaron (January 1, 2021)."Make sure everyone you know is aware of this dangerous NHS COVID-19 scam".Express.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on December 31, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 1,2021.
- ^Abroshan, Hossein; Devos, Jan; Poels, Geert; Laermans, Eric (2021)."COVID-19 and Phishing: Effects of Human Emotions, Behaviour, and Demographics on the Success of Phishing Attempts During the Pandemic".IEEE Access.9:121916–121929.Bibcode:2021IEEEA...9l1916A.doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3109091.hdl:1854/LU-8720798.S2CID237473869.
- ^"4 Covid-19 scams you should look out for right now".Salisbury Journal.January 10, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on January 11, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^"COVID-19: Warning over texts offering fake 'third lockdown' HMRC grant".Sky News.Archivedfrom the original on January 12, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^"Beware fraud and scams during Covid-19 pandemic fraud".nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk.Archivedfrom the original on January 18, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^Bianca, Kerjan (January 13, 2021)."Avoiding COVID-19 vaccine scams".KRDO.Archivedfrom the original on January 13, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^"Public warned against Covid-19 vaccine scams in UK".Hindustan Times.January 9, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on January 9, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^"UN health agency warns against coronavirus COVID-19 criminal scams".February 29, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on March 8, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
- ^"Covid-19: Police warning over vaccine scam messages".BBC News.January 6, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on January 14, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^Skiba, Katherine."Vaccine Scams Rise Amid Nationwide Roll-Out".AARP.Archivedfrom the original on January 14, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^Iau, Jean (January 8, 2021)."MOH warns of SMS scams as Singapore begins Covid-19 vaccination drive".The Straits Times.Archivedfrom the original on January 10, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^Kharpal, Arjun (January 13, 2021)."Scammers are claiming to sell Covid-19 vaccines on the dark web for up to $1,000 worth of bitcoin".CNBC.Archivedfrom the original on January 14, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^Meadows, Sam (January 8, 2021)."Warnings over coronavirus vaccine scams used to steal personal data".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Archivedfrom the original on January 15, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^"Health experts warn of potential Covid-19 vaccine scam phone calls".NBC News.December 16, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^"5 Things to Know about COVID-19 Vaccine Scams".Archivedfrom the original on February 9, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
- ^"Fraud Alert: COVID-19 Scams".December 24, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on February 10, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
- ^"Fraud Alert: COVID-19 Scams".Office of Inspector General | Government Oversight | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.December 24, 2020.RetrievedNovember 3,2022.
- ^abTompor, Susan."Rising cases of COVID-19 stock scams threaten investors".USA TODAY.Archivedfrom the original on January 1, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 1,2021.
- ^"Scammers target savers with fake Covid-19 'vaccine bonds', claiming they are backed by Pfizer".The Independent.January 13, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on January 14, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2021.
- ^Neate, Rupert; Garside, Juliette; Lawrence, Felicity; Evans, Rob (May 11, 2020)."Healthcare firm advised by Owen Paterson won £133m coronavirus testing contract unopposed".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.RetrievedJanuary 17,2024.
- ^"UK government paid £1.7bn to private groups for coronavirus contracts".ft.RetrievedJanuary 17,2024.
- ^USA Today - 10 COVID-19 scams spreading right now that people are falling forArchivedFebruary 13, 2021, at theWayback Machine.USA Today.Retrieved January 15, 2021.