WASHINGTON—Two U.S. Senators, Ed Markety (D-Mass) and John Thune (R-S.D.) are calling on the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to take on an explosion of robocalls tied to the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
The duo sent a letter to Attorney General Barr and Chairman Ajit Pai after a Washington Post detailed a number of problematic robocalls tied to the disease spreading across America. According to YouMail, an estimated 1 million calls have flooded cellphones every single day purporting to sell testing services, cures and financial services.
These calls prey on two things in plenty of abundance right now across the world: fear and confusion. As cases reached nearly 50,000, and hundreds have died just in the United States, people’s emotions and concerns can be expected to grow.
The Federal Trade Commission, with help from YouMail and NoRobo, recently highlighted a variety of Covid-19 related scams. In one example, someone offered to make a test kit available to you immediately. In reality those are being restricted to the most critical cases and vulnerable populations as the number of available kits remains limited.
Audio transcript: ...[The Coronavirus] Response Act has made coronavirus testing more accessible immediately. If you want to receive a free testing kit delivered overnight to your home, press 1. If you do not want your free testing, press 2. (Audio source: YouMail)
“That can actually kill somebody,” Alex Quilici, the chief executive of YouMail, told the Washington Post. “This isn’t an annoyance. It’s become really dangerous.”
In another, the transcript reveals a promise of keeping you healthy by cleaning your HVAC system. Each time, scammers are trying to get citizens to give a credit card, financial information, or other critical data. They might take the money and run or use it as part of a larger scam to steal the victims identity.
In their letter, Senators Markey and Thune noted, “Robocalls that spread misinformation about cures, peddle ineffective equipment, and offer bogus medical advice have the potential to inflict significant harm on individuals and communities across the country.”
Last year, President Trump signed into law the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, which grants additional authority to the FCC and Department of Justice to go after robocallers. And it granted phone companies the ability to block robocalls, especially those using spoofed numbers that appear to come from a friend or legitimate source.
So what can you do in these troubled times as your phone continues to ring? We have a few tips:
Only trust official sources of information: If a call claims to be from a doctor, social security administration or other official sounding department, offer to call them back at that number. IF they hang up, it was probably a scam call.
Do not respond: Do not respond to any calls or texts from numbers you do not recognize. Do not try to return the call as that indicates you are a “live” number and they will continue to try.
Do not click links:A friend of Shep recently shared a number of text messages about a supposed package delivery, but the links would try to download malware on his phone.
U.S. PIRG Education Fund has more examples of scams, along with additional recommendations. They will continue to add new COVID-19 phishing scams every week.
Audio transcript: Hello this is a call from the Social Security Administration. During these difficult times of the coronavirus, we regret to inform you that we have got an order to suspend your socials immediately within 24 hours due to suspicious and fraudulent activities found on your socials. We are contacting you as this case is critical and needs your urgent attention. To get more information about this case please call immediately on our department number 888-991-XXXX. I repeat 888-991-XXXX. (Audio source: Nomorobo)
Audio transcript: Dear customer: Due to coronavirus outbreak, we deliver a wide range of sanitizers, handwash, toilet papers, and face masks at your doorstep to safeguard you and your family from coronavirus. No need to visit stores. Get delivery in 24 hours. To order press 1. For more knowledge and safety tips about coronavirus, press 2. (Audio source: Nomorobo)
Audio transcript: Protect your loved ones from the coronavirus. For only $79 our highly trained technicians will do a full air duct cleaning and sanitation to make sure that the air you breathe is free of bacteria. So don’t hesitate, press 0 and have your duct system cleaned and sanitized now. Press 9 to be removed from this list. (Audio source: YouMail)
