ABC News: How to watch out for scams as a coronavirus vaccine nears. “Homeland Security Investigations officials are preparing for a crush of new scams when the coronavirus vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which could come in a few weeks.”
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Los Angeles Times: California has sent COVID-19 jobless benefits to Scott Peterson, death row inmates
Los Angeles Times: California has sent COVID-19 jobless benefits to Scott Peterson, death row inmates. “San Quentin inmate Scott Peterson, convicted of killing his wife and unborn son, received California unemployment benefits in recent months, according to a group of state and federal prosecutors who have been investigating fraud in the pandemic relief system administered by the state Employment Development Department. So did convicted serial killer Cary Stayner, who murdered two women and two girls near Yosemite in 1999 and now is jailed, near Peterson, on death row.”
BetaNews: More than 5,000 Black Friday-related scam sites registered in November
BetaNews: More than 5,000 Black Friday-related scam sites registered in November. “While the holiday season is a peak time for retailers, it also represents an opportunity for cybercriminals. This is particularly true of 2020 when more people than ever are likely to be shopping online. Research from Comparitech analyzed around 30 million websites registered this month to identify efforts by cybercriminals to trick consumers looking for holiday shopping deals.”
MakeUseOf: How to Spot Mail Fraud and Online Scams This Holiday Season
MakeUseOf: How to Spot Mail Fraud and Online Scams This Holiday Season. “Studies suggest Americans will spend over $400 billion in total on holiday gifts, goodies, and travel, making it a big target for scammers. So, here’s how to spot mailing scams during the holidays and keep yourself safe.”
Accounting Today: $7.2M in SBA coronavirus aid went to family’s fake farms
Accounting Today: $7.2M in SBA coronavirus aid went to family’s fake farms. “The single-family house on Forestview Avenue in Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, shows no signs of farming activity. The only things growing on the one-eighth-acre plot are trees, shrubs and grass. But 20 companies registered at that address, with names like Organic Ohio Berries LLC and Garlic Farming LLC, have won government approval for loans and grants intended to support small businesses hurt by the pandemic.”
Sitejabber: Coronavirus Consumer Resource Center
From Sitejabber: Coronavirus Consumer Resource Center. “This time of uncertainty and alarm has brought out both the best and worst in businesses. While some aim to help with donations and discounts, others offer false information and scams to make more money. As a leading platform of authentic consumer resources, we are providing this consumer-centric guide with businesses for users to turn to for medical information, protective gear, stay-at-home alternatives, and more.”
ThreatPost: Exposed Database Reveals 100K+ Compromised Facebook Accounts
ThreatPost: Exposed Database Reveals 100K+ Compromised Facebook Accounts. “Cybercriminals left an ElasticSearch database exposed, revealing a global attack that compromised Facebook accounts and used them to scam others. Researchers have uncovered a wide-ranging global scam targeting Facebook users, after finding an unsecured database used by fraudsters to store the usernames and passwords of at least 100,000 victims.”
FTC: FTC warns companies to stop peddling fake COVID treatments and cures
FTC: FTC warns companies to stop peddling fake COVID treatments and cures. “Here at the FTC, we’ve seen people pitching COVID treatments like gemstone bead bracelets, water filtration systems, indoor tanning with red light UV therapy, copper water bottles, high dose vitamin C IV drips, juices and supplements, stem cell treatments, ozone therapy, laser light treatments, and more. All of these products and treatments have one thing in common: there is no evidence — as required by law — that they work against the Coronavirus.”
WKRN: Credit card fraud rising amid COVID-19 pandemic, how to avoid it
WKRN: Credit card fraud rising amid COVID-19 pandemic, how to avoid it. “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, concerns over credit card fraud worsen. News 2 spoke with Robyn Householder, President/CEO of Better Business Bureau in Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, about the recent increase in this type of crime.”
Scam Alert: BBB announces phony COVID grants on social media (KULR)
KULR: Scam Alert: BBB announces phony COVID grants on social media. “The Better Business Bureau shares how a new scam is invading your social media inboxes, posing as Facebook friends or Instagram followers.”
MarketWatch: Consumers ordering Clorox and Lysol products are being sent socks instead, FTC says
MarketWatch: Consumers ordering Clorox and Lysol products are being sent socks instead, FTC says. “The clean-sell.com site, along with 24 others, received notices from the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday alleging that they were ‘playing on consumers’ COVID-19 pandemic fears to trick them into paying for Clorox and Lysol products that the defendants never deliver.’ In some cases, the sites are charging more than $1,000 for their products, the FTC alleged.”
FTC Announces New Fraud Reporting Platform for Consumers: ReportFraud. ftc. gov (Federal Trade Commission)
Federal Trade Commission: FTC Announces New Fraud Reporting Platform for Consumers: ReportFraud. ftc. gov. “At ReportFraud.ftc.gov, consumers will find a streamlined and user-friendly way to submit reports to the FTC about scams, frauds, and bad business practices. The FTC has long encouraged consumers to report these issues to the FTC when they encounter them—whether or not they lost money to the fraud.”
KTVB: Idaho attorney general warns of fake coronavirus cures
KTVB: Idaho attorney general warns of fake coronavirus cures. “Lawrence Wasden says they’ve received a lot of complaints recently about online sellers making unproven claims about things like colloidal silver, essential oils, supplements or immunity-boosting therapies.”
ProPublica: “Trumpcare” Does Not Exist. Nevertheless Facebook and Google Cash In on Misleading Ads for “Garbage” Health Insurance.
ProPublica: “Trumpcare” Does Not Exist. Nevertheless Facebook and Google Cash In on Misleading Ads for “Garbage” Health Insurance.. “The thousands of ‘Trumpcare’ ads Facebook and Google have published show that the shadowy ‘lead generation’ economy has a happy home on the platforms — and even big names like UnitedHealthcare take part.”
Department of Justice: Rapper Who Bragged about Unemployment Benefits Scam in Music Video Arrested for Allegedly Bilking COVID-19 Jobless Relief Program
Department of Justice: Rapper Who Bragged about Unemployment Benefits Scam in Music Video Arrested for Allegedly Bilking COVID-19 Jobless Relief Program. “A rapper who boasted in a YouTube music video about getting rich from committing unemployment benefits fraud was arrested [October 16] on federal charges of carrying out that very scheme by fraudulently applying for more than $1.2 million in jobless benefits, including by using stolen identities.”