Another day, another scam, and this time it has to do with phony offers related to coronavirus pandemic relief funds.
The Better Business Bureau is reporting that “con artists are offering too good to be true discounts in the hope that price-conscious consumers will jump on these “deals” without doing their research. Recently, BBB Scam Tracker has seen numerous reports of scammers impersonating well-known companies and offering COVID-19 themed discounts.” It is happening on your phone through text messages.
The Scenario of How The Scam Works: You receive a text message from a large, reputable company. The message claims that, due to the pandemic, the company would like to help people out by offering them an amazing deal. These range from free or discounted services to gift cards and cash. The bad news is this is a SCAM. If you click the link, you may be prompted to log into a lookalike website that scammers use to get hold of your login ID and password. With that information, scammers can access your accounts and even make purchases using your saved payment methods. the latest BBB Scam Tracker reports mention Hulu, Netflix, and Verizon, watch out for scammers impersonating other companies too. If one name stops being effective, they’ll quickly switch to another company.
The GOOD NEWS is -There is something you can do to protect yourself. First of all do not click on the link. Instead, report it to the BBB and local law enforcement.