Believe It or Not... Fraudsters Are Using COVID-19 to Steal People's Identity!

During times of crisis, fraudsters feast. Even during a pandemic when over 700,000 Americans have lost their lives to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and all of us have been affected by its fear. 

 On August 16, 2021... the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General issued an updated public alert about COVID-19 fraud schemes. The alert warns us to be on the lookout, because fraudsters are engaging in identity theft by phone, text message, social media, and door-to-door COVID-19 scams. Shame on them. Keep reading because this is important information.

3 Tips to Protect Yourself From Scammers:

1. This may sound logical to you, but don't post a photo of your vaccination card on social media platforms. Scammers can steal your name, birthdate, and other personal information.  

2. Across the country, scammers are pretending to be volunteers and going door-to-door to inform people about COVID-19 vaccines.  Do not provide your personal, medical, or financial details to anyone in exchange for vaccine information.

 3. Everyone likes a good survey. But be very cautious of taking a COVID-19 survey. Do not give your personal, medical, or financial information to anyone claiming to offer money or gifts in exchange for your participation in a COVID-19 vaccine survey.

St Tammany FCU is Here to Help You Fight Fraud!

Identity thieves and hackers have long known how to use stolen identities to commit fraud, the pandemic only furthering this existing issue. While we cannot do anything to stop scammers from looking for new ways to commit fraud, our team at St. Tammany FCU is here to help you stay informed, monitor your personal information, and report fraud when it happens!