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Cyber criminals are using the confusion and chaos surrounding federal relief payments to either steal those payments, or to take money from you to help you apply for those payments. Those same scammers are working with hackers to send out emails spoofing federal agencies while also delivering malware. And of course there are attacks attempting to get information about you or your business so they can redirect them to the scammer\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, we\u2019ve seen a lot of them,\u201d said Roger Grimes, data driven defense evangelist at KnowBe4<\/a>. Grimes said he\u2019s seen a 670 percent increase in such in March alone.<\/p>\n \u201cScams related to loans and stimulus started before they were even approved.\u201d Grimes said they started a week and a half before the law passed.<\/p>\n Getty<\/small><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The scams arrive in emails, web advertisements and on social media. They promise to help you get your $1200.00 stimulus payment, they offer to get your Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration or to handle the paperwork for the Payroll Protection Program.<\/p>\n Depending on the attacker the emails and ads may appear to come from a bank or from a service that appears to be designed to help with loans, often with logos lifted from a legitimate source. For example Grimes aid that one such scam attempt his company found appeared to come from American Express, and used imagery taken from previous phishing attempts. Others will try to spoof the SBA.<\/p>\n PROMOTED<\/p>\n To preserve the appearance of legitimacy, the scammers are setting up new sites that seem authentic. Shashi Prakash, co-founder and chief scientist for Bolster<\/a>, which runs a COVID-19 scam tracking dashboard said, \u201cWe\u2019ve seen two different types. Domains being registered referring to small business loans, and we\u2019ve seen domains with names like stimulus.\u201d<\/p>\n Prakash said that those domain registrations spiked at 145,000 in a month.<\/p>\n The scams boil down to three types. The first is a phishing email designed to get the information necessary to apply for a PPP or EIDL with your information and their banking information. The second is similar in that it aims to get the information necessary to update payment information on the IRS website for stimulus payments. Then there are the scams that try to get you to pay for the scammer to handle the application paperwork for you, but in which you\u2019ll only get to pay the processing fee, but not get an application submitted.<\/p>\n What to Look Out For<\/strong><\/p>\n By now you know the signs of a phishing email, things like misspelled words, bad grammar and links that go somewhere besides where they appear to go. But it goes beyond that to attempts to get you to pay a fee for applying for the SBA loans, for example.<\/p>\n In addition, the mere fact that they\u2019re approaching you is a giveaway. To apply for the EIDL, you go to the SBA website and fill out a short form. You\u2019ll get an advance on an SBA loan in about a month.<\/p>\n This is the sort of ad you might see from a COVID-19 fraudster trying to part you with your money.<\/p>\n Bolster, Inc<\/small><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n You apply for a PPP loan through a financial institution, normally a bank where you already have a a business account, although other banks will also accept applications, and some financial organizations such as PayPal are accepting PPP applications. There\u2019s no way to expedite a stimulus payment, other than going to the IRS website and making sure they have your banking information.<\/p>\n What to Do<\/strong><\/p>\n First, whatever you do, don\u2019t click on anything in these emails, websites or social media posts that offer to help you get an SBA loan or to help with your stimulus payment. If you are contacted, The FBI has a list of resources<\/a> online. The Department of Justice has resources including a toll-free number at the National Center for Disaster Fraud<\/a>. The FBI can take a complaint at the Internet Crime Complaint Center<\/a>. The FTC has a page of resources at its Coronavirus Advice for Consumers<\/a> page.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a few tips:<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Assume that any contact offering help or to sell you something relating to COVID-19 is fraudulent unless proven otherwise.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is no vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Any offer to sell you one is fraudulent.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is no treatment for COVID-19 that you can administer yourself. Remdesivir must be taken in an IV. There are no pills. Offers to sell this drug are fraudulent.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are no self-administered COVID-19 tests approved by the FDA. These products are also fraudulent.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chloroquine may be available, but it doesn\u2019t help COVID-19. In fact studies show you may die sooner with it. Its cousin Quinine won\u2019t help either, except it might help steady your nerves when included in tonic water with some gin.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While you may be able to buy some PPE, including N95 masks, gowns and gloves, there\u2019s a high percentage of fakes on the market. Make sure you\u2019re buying from a reputable source.<\/p>\n If you have doubts about a source, check the URL with Bolster\u2019s checkphish page<\/a>. And remember, when the government is handing out money, fraudsters, phishers and cyber criminals will be right there to take it off your hands<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"SBA](\"https:\/\/specials-images.forbesimg.com\/imageserve\/5eb4b67bb5b68e00078616f7\/960x0.jpg?cropX1=389&cropX2=4906&cropY1=1065&cropY2=3667\")
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