Top scams facing consumers in 2021 and ways to fight back
By Mike Festa, State Director, AARP Massachusetts
REGION – As 2021 has drawn to a close, we look back on a year in which COVID continued to be a major player in our daily lives. And the scammers, as always, were ready to pounce, deploying not only new scams, but adapting tried-and-true scams to the unsettled times.
COVID Scams
As the pandemic evolved over the course of 2021, the scams associated with it evolved as well. Bogus “post-vaccine” surveys — An email or a text message containing a link to a “post-vaccine” survey promises free rewards if you click the link and provide payment information to cover a small fee. Don’t click links.
COVID-19 funeral expense support scams — A particularly heinous scam emerged earlier this year after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) opened up a program offering funds to help with COVID-related funeral expenses. Scammers impersonating FEMA contacted individuals offering to help them register for the program — for a small fee, of course. Know that government agencies don’t operate this way.
Unemployment compensation scams — A massive wave of identity fraud occurred in the form of criminals using stolen identities to file for unemployment compensation. The victim typically only found out when they received a letter confirming their benefits, or received a tax form indicating they had received unemployment….
