The Better Business Bureau warns of a new scam that promises to deliver unclaimed relief money from the government — but is really just a trick to collect your personal data.
According to the BBB, the message arrives by phone call or text. It tells recipients they have an unclaimed relief payment check waiting and sends them to a webpage called "myreliefcheck.com" to enter personal information.
The BBB says the goal of the scam is to gather useful data from respondents, such as email and mailing address and phone numbers. Scammers may be able to then steal your identity, target you with malware or entice you to sign up for unnecessary services.
There have been more than 800 reports of the scam in recent weeks.
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To stay safe, the BBB recommends several steps:
- Watch out for urgent language that sounds like an advertisement
- Verify any claims you hear about government checks by contacting the relevant government agencies yourself
- Double-check web addresses that may try to imitate legitimate sites to make sure you're in the right place
