BBB says scammers are out taking advantage of the pandemic

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - The Better Business Bureau says scammers are out taking advantage of recent natural disasters and the pandemic. A new strategy is that they will call or send a fake COVID-19 test.

"You know unfortunately we see this type of scam here in Eastern Idaho, all over the state of Idaho, and then all over the United States," Eastern Idaho Marketplace Manager for Better Business Bureau, Jeremy Johnson said.

"Unfortunately the thing is, these people are good at what they do and they can be very convincing," Johnson said. "A lot of times they may call you or one type of thing and as you're talking to them, if you do pick up the phone, they're listening to the voice to determine your age. They may listen to see if you have a dog in the background kids, and then they use that information to prey upon you again."

18 to 24-year-olds are often the most targeted for scams, but the age group does not have much money to lose. So that is why scammers target senior citizens because they often have more money in their accounts and time to talk.

"One thing with some of these scams, is, is if anybody's asking you to pay money to get a prize, that you never entered to win a prize, that can be a huge red flag," Johnson said. "Or if you see an email that looks like it's from a corporation or a business that you've done business with, but there's misspellings or things look a little off that can also be a red flag."

Another big red flag is people asking for your social security number.

"What we all need to know is, once your information is compromised, it's almost impossible to get it back," Johnson said. "So if you are getting phone calls and information is taken, it is really really hard to get it back. So you want to hold your information like you would hold tangible valuables."