Scammers are trying to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley issued a warning Wednesday about the following types of scams:
- Selling phony products that don't exist or don't work
- Overcharging for goods in high demand, such as face masks or hand sanitizers
- Emails supposedly from the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requesting personal information
- Bogus charities seeking donations
Dudley said you should watch out for the following:
- Email asking you to verify your personal information in order receive an economic stimulus check from the government
- Anyone selling products that claim to prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19
- Email claiming to be from the CDC or WHO offering information on the virus if you click on a link
To protect yourself, remember the following tips:
- Do not open attachments or click links within emails from senders you don't recognize
- Do not provide your personal information (username, password, date of birth, Social Security number, etc.) in response to an email or robocall
- Do not provide your Medicare number to anyone other than your doctor or health care provider
- Verify the web address of legitimate websites and manually type them into your browser
If you believe you've been a victim of a scam or want to report suspicious activity, you can file a report on the FBI's website.