Financial Institutions Can Help Fight COVID-19 Scams

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the United States, scammers have seized the opportunity to prey on consumer fears surrounding the virus. As a leader in a financial institution, it is imperative that your employees can:

  • Recognize COVID-19 scams
  • Educate your customers
  • Know where to find government resources to report these scams
COVID-19 Scams

Types of COVID-19 scams being reported to federal agencies

  • Coronavirus Cures
    There are several cases being reported that there are emails, text messages, and robocalls from individuals and businesses claiming to have the cure or home testing kits for COVID-19.
  • CDC/WHO Phishing Scams
    There have been robocalls claiming to be from the CDC or WHO asking for usernames and passwords to secure information, such as bank or health insurance information.
  • Donation/Charity Scams
    Robocalls and emails claiming to be from different charities to support coronavirus relief efforts have been reported.
  • Stimulus Check Scams
    Text messages, robocalls and emails claiming to have the means for someone to receive their stimulus funds faster for a fee.

5 ways to educate your customers on COVID-19 scams

The best method of preventing an influx of customers from having fraud claims is to properly educate your customers. The following are some tips employees can pass along to customers to help them avoid being victims of COVID-19 scams:

  • Educate customers not to respond to texts or emails from anyone they don’t know offering products from at home testing kits, to medical supplies and COVID-19 vaccinations. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns consumers explicitly about such scams: “There currently are no vaccines, pills, potions, lotions, lozenges or other prescription or over-the-counter products available to treat or cure Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – online or in stores.”
  • Explain to customers that the CDC and WHO are much like their bank – they will never ask for a username or password to access safety information. Also like a bank, they will never require a payment to access information surrounding COVID-19. The WHO has also directed that it will not call anyone directly for donations. The only call for donations has been for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund website.
  • There is no way to receive a stimulus check faster. The details around receiving the stimulus check are still being worked out. No one from the United States Treasury or any other government or regulatory agency will not “mistakenly send you a check” for over the correct dollar amount and direct you to do anything to return the “excess” funds.
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It’s that simple.
  • COVID-19 Scams go further than bogus products. Be careful when you browse for information about coronavirus. Check Point, a cybersecurity firm, notes that coronavirus websites – those with “coronavirus” or “covid” in the domain name – are 50% more likely to be malicious than other domains. When you visit these malicious domains, you could start receiving emails from fraudsters in an attempt to either plant malware on your computer, or access personal information. This attack is called phishing.

This video offers an overview of Phishing Best Practices to follow.

In partnership with Inspired eLearning, OnCourse Learning offers cybersecurity courses available in packages to best suit your business and include online training courses such as security awareness, phishing, and protecting your mobile data and devices.

LEARN MORE

Additional Resources on COVID-19 Scams

Government and regulatory agencies have requested the public report any COVID-19 related scams. There are multiple avenues to reporting these scams, including:

Rachel Davis - Product Manager at OCL

About the Author

Rachel Davis

Product Manager at OnCourse Learning

Rachel Davis is the Product Manager of GRC and professional education for banks, credit unions, and non-bank financial services at OnCourse Learning. Rachel has worked in the financial services industry for 12 years and keeps up to date on financial industry hot topics. Rachel received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Saint Louis University.

Rachel Davis - Product Manager at OCL

Rachel Davis

Product Manager at OnCourse Learning

Rachel Davis is the Product Manager of GRC and professional education for banks, credit unions, and non-bank financial services at OnCourse Learning. Rachel has worked in the financial services industry for 12 years and keeps up to date on financial industry hot topics. Rachel received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Saint Louis University.

By |2020-04-09T08:27:02-06:00April 9th, 2020|Bank, Credit Union, Financial Services|0 Comments

Leave A Comment