Scammers are taking advantage of coronavirus to try and trick you, experts say - lehighvalleylive.com

In the past two weeks, as the worsening coronavirus pandemic strengthens its hold on the United States, nearly 10 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits.

Seeking to exploit personal financial loss, scammers are using fake unemployment filing websites in order to steal personal information or to harvest the data to sell to others for uses not properly disclosed to the user, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro warned.

“Scammers are working overtime to try and make a profit during this emergency, and we are staying on high alert to stop them,” Shapiro said in a news release Thursday. “You can help. Only file for unemployment through the Department of Labor and Industry at​ uc.pa.gov​. If you see a website or email claiming to be a source for filing for unemployment outside of this Department, report it to the Office of Attorney General.”

In New Jersey, the place to go to file unemployment claims is myunemployment.nj.gov.

David Finkelstein, information security director for St. Luke’s University Health Network, also warned of cybercriminals exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to try to gain access to confidential personal and financial information.

He encourages everyone to be wary of online ads and websites that offer cures or preventions for the potentially devastating virus.

“The COVID-19 pandemic creates a perfect environment for unscrupulous individuals,” Finkelstein says in a news release. “Many people are afraid and desperately looking for ways to protect themselves and their families. As a result, they are more vulnerable to falling for a hacker’s trick than they might be during more typical times. Unfortunately, there are no easy fixes for COVID-19 so be sure to get your information from reputable sources like sluhn.org or CDC.gov.”

One popular trick of cybercriminals is to pose as an executive and send a fictitious email, often with an attachment or a link to a website, according to St. Luke’s. The names of legitimate company executives are usually available through a Google search or on the company’s website.

“Before opening emails or attachments from people outside of your usual contacts, double-check the email address,” Finkelstein says. “If it doesn’t look right, delete it. If it’s a suspicious work-related email, contact your company’s information services department immediately.”

As always, to protect your information, he recommends:

• Do not provide your credentials, usernames or passwords unless you are confident of the source.
• Do not open email attachments from unknown sources.
• Do not click on a link that takes you to a website, even those that appear to be reliable. Use google or other favorite search engines to find websites and then type the URL into your web browser instead.
• Keep your computer, router firmware and web browser up to date.
• Make sure you have security software installed and keep it current.
• Install software updates promptly.

The Federal Trade Commission urges Americans to use stay-at-home orders like those in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as a chance to social distance themselves from robocall scammers, too.

The FTC at consumer.ftc.gov offers examples of coronavirus scammers pretending to call from the Social Security Administration, offering fake tests to Medicare recipients and scaring small businesses into buying bogus online listing services.

The commission also offers these tips to help keep scammers at bay:

• Hang up on robocalls. Don’t press any numbers. Scammers are using illegal robocalls to pitch everything from scam Coronavirus treatments to work-at-home schemes. The recording might say that pressing a number will let you speak to a live operator or remove you from their call list, but it might lead to more robocalls, instead.
• Ignore online offers for vaccinations and home test kits. Scammers are trying to get you to buy products that aren’t proven to treat or prevent the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) — online or in stores. At this time, there also are no FDA-authorized home test kits for the coronavirus. Visit the FDA to learn more.
• Fact-check information. Scammers, and sometimes well-meaning people, share information that hasn’t been verified. Before you pass on any messages, contact trusted sources.
• Know who you’re buying from. Online sellers may claim to have in-demand products, like cleaning, household and health and medical supplies when, in fact, they don’t.
• Don’t respond to texts and emails about checks from the government. The details are still being worked out. Anyone who tells you they can get you the money now is a scammer.
• Don’t click on links from sources you don’t know. They could download viruses onto your computer or device.
• Watch for emails claiming to be from the CDC or experts saying they have information about the virus.
• Do your homework when it comes to donations, whether through charities or crowdfunding sites. Don’t let anyone rush you into making a donation. If someone wants donations in cash, by gift card, or by wiring money, don’t do it.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether it’s a news tip, a topic you want us to cover or a personal story you want to share.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. If there’s anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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Scammers are taking advantage of coronavirus to try and trick you, experts say - lehighvalleylive.com
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