Scammers are preying on COVID fears, hopes. Here’s what to watch out for.
With the coronavirus shutdown in place, many retailers that normally sell lottery tickets are closed.
Chip Polston, spokesman for Kentucky Lottery, said that about 300 stores that normally sell scratch-offs and numbers for Powerball and Mega Millions drawings are shuttered. So it isn’t a big surprise that lottery sales are down about 12 percent.
What isn’t down: Scams.
Polston said Thursday that since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, Kentucky Lottery officials have seen a steady uptick in scam calls: Players being contacted and told they’ve won a large cash prize to try to trick them into giving out personal bank information.
“We typically see these things start to increase in frequency around large record-breaking jackpots,” Polston said. “Trying to steal money from someone during a global pandemic when many people are very concerned about their finances is a new low, even for these scumbags.”
He said that during the last big Powerball jackpot run, an elderly man called the Kentucky Lottery office. He’d just hung up with someone who claimed he’d won a big prize and he’d given them all his banking info. “We kept him on the line, got his bank patched in, and they were able to shut down his accounts quickly,” Polston said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that this guy was minutes away from losing everything he had there.”
Polston reminded players that the lottery does not have their phone number or email address and will not contact them.
Scammers are casting such a wide net that even a Kentucky Lottery retailer in Edmonson County got a call Wednesday from someone trying to convince staff at the store they’d won a $3 million prize, he said.
The scams typically take one of two forms, according to a press release:
▪ The scammers want you to pre-pay taxes on your “prize”, often times via gift cards or online accounts. There’s no prize, and they steal what you’ve paid.
▪ Scammers want access information to bank accounts so they can supposedly wire the “prize” to a player, but once they have this info, they steal what’s in the account.
If you get such requests, either ignore them or report them to the Kentucky Attorney General’s office.
Other scams popping up
Working from home can be hazardous to your bank account.
The Better Business Bureau reported that an insurance office in Lexington was almost scammed out of $800 in Google Play cards. An administrative assistant got an email she thought was from her boss on her office email, asking for her cell number.
“I received an email that looked like it came from my boss asking for my cell phone number. My boss’ name appeared as the contact so I didn’t think to check that the email address matched. Plus, he or she addressed me by name,” the woman told the BBB according to a press release. “After I gave him my number, the scammer texted and asked me to go to the store to buy some gift cards, scratch off the back, and text him pictures of them. That was when I realized it was a scam and I double checked the email address to see it was a strange one.”
“This con is known as the Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam,” said Heather Clary, BBB Director of Communications. “A scammer poses as a reliable source who emails from a spoofed or hacked account to an employee, asking him or her to wire funds or buy gift cards. With so many people working remotely because of the COVID19 pandemic, it would be easy for an employee to fall for this scam.”
She suggested double checking by phone call before releasing any financial information.
Another version of this involves human resource departments, which are being asked to “update” employee direct deposit info, shifting paychecks into scammers’ accounts. Employers should always verify any changes with workers.
More COVID scams
UK Extension also is warning people to be wary of “IRS officials” contacting them about coronavirus relief payments. Check IRS.gov/coronavirus if you have questions.
And, with many charities asking for help during the pandemic, be careful who give to. Make sure it is a reputable charity.
Other scammers are offering treatments or methods of preventing coronavirus. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration have recently issued warning letters to companies selling products with false claims. Some scammers have set up fake COVID-19 testing sites, charging hundreds of dollars.
Also be wary of people who are asking for fees upfront for delivering items such as groceries or for online purchases, especially for goods in high demand such as cleaning supplies or medical equipment such as masks. Stick with companies you know and trust.
And be on the lookout for robocalls and “phishing” emails where people are impersonating World Health Organization or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials. Do not click any link in these emails or give any personal information.
You can report scams to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint or to the Kentucky Attorney General at 888-432-9257. If you’d like to receive scam alerts, you can sign up by texting KYOAG Scam to GOV311 (468311). Report phishing and hacking scams to the FBI at ic3.gov. For up-to-date information about COVID-19 in Kentucky, visit kycovid19.ky.gov.
