Top Stories
Your rights if you’ve canceled an airline flight because of the virus
VISA announces new policies to fight free trial offers scams: “Specifically, cardholders will benefit from receiving the following — via email or text — from the seller they initiated a trial or introductory offer subscription with:
- immediate confirmation of the terms of the agreement
- proactive notification of any future payments at the end of the trial period
- instructions on how to initiate a cancellation”
FTC tips on stimulus check fraud
- Only use irs.gov/coronavirus to submit information to the IRS – and never in response to a call, text, or email.
- The IRS won’t contact you by phone, email, text message, or social media with information about your stimulus payment, or to ask you for your Social Security number, bank account, or government benefits debit card account number. Anyone who does is a scammer phishing for your information.
- You don’t have to pay to get your stimulus money.
- The IRS won’t tell you to deposit your stimulus check then send them money back because they paid you more than they owed you. That’s a fake check scam.
Coronavirus
- Fake pop up virus testing sites appear across the US; collect victim DNA, personal info, and $250 for bogus tests
- Contact tracing apps must respect privacy
- Europol warns of widespread counterfeiting of virus-related items
- Australians lose $138,700 to virus related online shopping scams – in one week
- Rental scammer uses virus as reason for not showing apartment in person
- US seizes counterfeit masks, medications, testing kits
- Scam text message tells people they have been exposed to the virus, must self-quarantine – and click a link to get details
- UK does search warrant on location sending text messages claiming to be from the government offering help with virus
- San Diego: criminal charges against Dr. offering hydroxychloroquine as “100% cure” for virus (but what if it turns out that this drug mostly does work?)
