It seems that a new scam comes out each month. During the pandemic, scammers used spoofing to send emails or make calls in hopes of scamming people’s friends and family out of money. Here are some of the latest scams and the steps you should take to keep your parents from falling for them.
CDC or Health Department Visits
Many people have reported a CDC scam where a person claims to be from the CDC or a local health department. They are there to collect information (date of birth, Social Security number, etc.) so that testing for COVID-19 can be arranged. The personal information they want to collect are details your parents shouldn’t share with a stranger.
Make sure your parents know that the CDC or health department isn’t going door to door to test people. If someone comes to their door, they need to refuse to answer it. They need to call the police and report it.
Federal Stimulus Package Scams
One scam that’s been reported around the country is a Federal Stimulus Package scam. It’s a convincing scam as people know there is a stimulus package in the works. When people click on the link to collect their $1,000 stimulus payment, there’s a risk of malware getting installed on your parents’ computer.
Talk to your parents as often as possible. Make sure you tell them not to click links received in an email or that appear in pop-up ads on the apps or websites they use or visit. They need to use a computer security suite and keep the definitions updated. You can help by setting the updates to run automatically and to have scans run every day.
The Sick Friend or Family Member Scam
Scammers are spoofing email addresses and making it look like their friend or a family member has sent the email. This email says that the sender is very sick, stuck in quarantine, and can’t work. They ask for gift cards to be sent to their email so that they can purchase e-books and other things to do during their quarantine.
Your parents should never respond to a request like this. If it’s real, they can call the person and verify that the friend or family member is truly sick. At that point, they could offer to purchase books or other items that they can drop off on the person’s porch.
If your parents struggle with knowing who to trust at the door or over the phone, it’s a good time to talk about senior care services. A caregiver can offer guidance they require to avoid being scammed. Call a senior care agency to talk about having caregivers available when you’re not there.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering senior care in Greenwood Village, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
