Criminals in America are exploiting the Coronavirus pandemic in a new way – by collecting unemployment benefits meant for others.

They submit fake unemployment benefit claims using the details of genuine people thereby collecting payments meant to help people in need due to the crisis.

Identity thieves commonly take personal information including name, addresses, date of birth, social security numbers and so on and use those to pretend to be that person and take out loans, credit cards etc. in the victim’s names.

The criminals spend the money and the honest person whose details have been stolen gets the bills.

Banks and other financial institutions do have systems in place to spot these crimes, but these unemployment scams are harder to detect as typically the owner only discovers there has been a theft when:

1. They apply for unemployment and find someone has opened a claim in their name and has been collecting money.
2. They receive a form 1099-G listing unemployment income subject to federal income tax.
3. They receive notice from their state unemployment office confirming that a claim has been filed.
4. They receive notice from their employer that someone has filed for unemployment in their name.

The criminals get the personal information from the usual sources – phishing emails, fake web sites, phone calls pretending be an official of a trusted organisation etc.

If you receive notification that an unemployment claim has been made in your name and it wasn’t by you – get in touch immediately to get it sorted out.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

Organisations are in the difficult position of trying to keep their business running while maintaining the safety of staff and customers in a world of Coronavirus.

Many scammers want to take advantage of the fear and difficulties around this and offer fake solutions – PPE that doesn’t exist or is not fit to use, fake ways to spot the virus, fake treatments, fake tests and more recently fake vaccines.

One latest email offers:-

“Fortunately, however, you can now use a test which can deliver results within 15 minutes; a test which is increasingly being used by companies across the country. “

“Our test will confirm if COVID-19 is present in the individual before any symptoms are revealed.  It has an accuracy rate of over 99% and requires no specialist equipment.”

The email address for information etc. is info @deosgroup.co.uk but this is actually a link to sptr.eomail6.com/hsdjkfhaskdhfkahdfkhadfkadksdfadakdadadadasd which is obviously fake.

Do not buy anything to do with Coronavirus precautions, equipment, tests etc. except from accredited sources.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has launched a new initiative, bringing law enforcement and government together with the private sector to tackle criminals seeking to exploit the COVID-19 crisis for financial gain.

The new ‘OTELLO COVID-19 Fusion Cell’, led by the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and co-sponsored by the private sector, brings together experts from across sectors – including the financial sector, insurance companies, trade bodies, law enforcement and the wider public sector.

The Cell aims to rapidly share information on changes to the economic crime threat related to COVID-19 and to proactively target, prevent and disrupt criminal activity, protecting businesses and the public.

There is concern that criminals are using the pandemic as a hook to harm vulnerable people for financial gain or to continue illicit activity. Whilst the overall level of fraud being reported has not significantly increased, there has been a noticeable shift towards scams directly linking to Coronavirus.

More people working from home and an increase in online activity has left both businesses and people vulnerable to scams. Lockdown has also changed the way people conduct their lives and business, with an increase in mobile banking, e-payments and cash stockpiling.

The Fusion Cell will work in partnership with industry to identify new trends and threats and decide on the most appropriate way to tackle it, building on the expertise of both the public and private sectors.

The Cell produces a weekly public/private threat dashboard, to inform areas for proactive tactical development and disruptive action.

Insight from developing the Fusion Cell has the potential to inform a longer term ambition to develop the capability to spot and stop economic crime before it happens, with real-time insight and disruptive activity through public-private data sharing

If you have any experiences with phishing scams do let me know, by email.