Watch Out For Economic Stimulus Scams!
Alright, now I need to get tough and say it straight with people. STOP FALLING FOR THESE IDIOTIC SCAMS. The news is littered with the fact that the government is NOT giving us an economic stimulus check, so why would you believe anything to the contrary?
The Scams
Currently, there are two making their way around the internet. The first involves identity thieves posing as the IRS and sending out spam e-mails promising an economic stimulus check. All the person has to do is download the attached form, fill it out, and send it back to the IRS to receive the check. The trouble is, the form is an identity theft tool that steals the personal information entered into it. And the address isn’t to the IRS.
The second scam involves being promised more information about obtaining “economic stimulus grants.” The bait on this scam is fake user testimonials such as, “I found the grant I needed and filled out the forms and sent them in, and in about two weeks I received a check in my hands for $100,000.” The link they send leads to a marketing-style site in which you enter personal details like salary range, email address, mailing address, and date of birth in order to be sent the “free” CD that will give you all the secrets to getting economic stimulus grants. At the end of the transaction, the site asks for credit card information for the shipping and handling of the CD. Trouble is, you never get the CD; however, you’ve now given them enough information to steal your identity.
Why Are People Falling For These Scams?
That’s a very good question, and one I had to ask the last person that came into the credit union bemoaning the fact that she had her identity stolen. Her response to me was that it seemed legitimate, yet as I read the email, all of the classic tell-tale signs were there. It had poor grammar and spelling in certain sections, the site that it directed you to was unsecured, and frankly, the belief that the government would send this woman (with no kids) a check for $5,000 as a stimulus check was ridiculous.
But these people keep falling for it. Something in their mind ignores the warning signs in the hope that just this once, it may be true. Just this once, they’ll get something for nothing. Sorry guys, life doesn’t work that way. We’re not getting economic stimulus checks this year and that has been made abundantly clear. What we are getting is a little extra money in our paycheck and a whole lot of debt as a nation. Don’t add to it by falling for the nonsense.
Related posts:
- Another Stimulus Package
- Phishing, Vishing, and Smishing, Oh My!
- 20 Common Credit Card Fees to Watch Out For!
- Watch out for the traps
- 5 More Credit Card Myths to Watch Out For!
Thank you Kristy for the reality check. Your check is much more valuable than the stimulus (fantasy) check that appears to come for nothing.
We as American have lost the American way; and we have forgot what it took to make America the great nation that she is (was??)
Hard work, good planning, teamwork, dedication, intrigrity, pride and dignity. Yes, these were the basic that built our nation. Somewhere along the way, we lost track of the fact that nothing from nothing leads to nothing. America — what does it have to show for herself now?
I’m not surprised scammers are latching on to this idea, what is surprising is how quickly people fall for it. I can understand the hope that for once luck would be with them, but as they say, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Ads for the economic stimulus scam have been showing up on the screen of my favorite Facebook game.
Hopefully the folks playing Wordscraper (a Scrabble variant) are smarter than the average bear and won’t fall for this.
I know, i hate hearing stories of people falling for this stuff :( It really makes it harder for the elderly too because a) they’re not all that skilled in computers & the internet anyways, and b) it’s hard to determine what’s legit and what’s not if your peers are in the same boat as you are!
I hope people do some research and come across this before it’s too late :) thanks for getting this out there!
@ Floyd – I agree that we’ve gotten off-track from where we started from, but I think as a nation, we can make it through the hard times. We have before and we’ll do so again. I hope this presidential administration can help with that effort, but if we don’t start seeing some of the promised change soon, he’ll have one hell of a time at reelection.
@ Dawn – I know! I had two people this week bring me checks saying they one the Canadian Grocery Lottery. First of all, I don’t think such a thing exists, but secondly, if they didn’t enter to win something, why do they think they’ve won? I just don’t understand.
@ kosmo – That’s interesting. You’d think Facebook would monitor the sorts of ads popping up. Has anyone reported them, do you know?
@ J – At the credit union we’re holding a special seminar for the elderly in regards to this stuff because they are the usual target. It’s just hard to see these people taken in for. But, we’ve got all kinds of warnings and messages posted around the branches to sort of help people get a better understanding of what’s out there. Still, I also hope people are researching it. If in doubt, ask your bank. They will know!
I agree with J. Sometimes I forget how many people aren’t up to speed with how the internet and email work. My mother has been using computers since the early 1990s, but she still doesn’t understand a lot of things. Once her AOL email account started getting “adult content” spam emails and she accused me and my brother of using her email address to sign up for triple-x websites! She doesn’t understand that you can get spam without ever signing up for something like that. So if my 62-year-old mom doesn’t understand this stuff, what about people who are even less computer savvy?