Beware Of Covid-19 Fraud & Scams

It has been 701 days since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, and fraudsters and scammers continue to take advantage of this public health emergency.

People are posing as loan and financial service companies, cleaning or heating companies, local and provincial hydro/electrical power companies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the WHO, Public Health Agency of Canada, Red Cross and other known charities, Government departments and door-to-door sales people to carry out COVID-19-related scams.

The importance of us all understanding and recognizing a potential scam cannot be understated as our personal and financial information can be put at risk, so let’s take a look at some examples of Covid-19 scams that have been reported in Canada:

 

1) Phishing, spear phishing and malicious links sent from a familiar email address or text message:

• The text claims to be from your Ministry of Health and will say that your third COVID-19 vaccine has been scheduled. The message then asks you to click on a malicious link. After clicking, you are asked to download software that contains malware.

 

• A text claiming to be from the Government of Canada that says “due to a recent vaccination, Canadians are eligible for a Vaccine Relief Fund”. The message then tells you to claim your funds by clicking on a link. The goal is to steal your personal and/or financial information.

 

• An email containing links or content related to COVID-19 vaccines and once you click on them it freezes your computer, makes you call a toll-free number and then they demand money from you to unfreeze your account.

 

2) Phone calls offering home vaccination kits:

• A phone call from someone claiming to work for a pharmaceutical company and offering a “6 shot vaccine system” which you receive by mail after paying large sums of money.

 

If you experience fraud, scams or cybercrime, report it to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and here are a number of reasons why it’s so important to do so:

• Information could link a number of crimes together, in Canada and abroad
• Information could progress or complete an investigation
• Reports show crime trends and allows for crime forecasting
• It helps law enforcement to learn about the crimes and help with prevention and awareness