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COVID-related phone scams are on the back several years after the COVID-19 pandemic led to much of the U. S. The U. S. government is due to close for a long time, according to a new report from robo-blocking company Hiya.
Hiya told Insider that she got many incident reports from her users describing scammers to get the data on the back of their Medicare cards.
The scammers “told me the COVID kits were free and then charged $91. 00 to Medicare,” one Hiya user reported on the app.
“They asked me for my Medicare Part B card information,” wrote another Hiya user who said the scammers, “said I had previously approved getting loose COVID verification kits, but only if I could provide my full call and address. “
Seeing Medicare/COVID-19 checkkit scams pile up frequently, the Federal Trade Commission issued a “consumer alert” in June to warn Medicare users never to give out their Medicare number over the phone.
“People who call and offer ‘free supplies,’ ‘free’ lab tests, or say they want a replacement Medicare card are scammers looking to get your Medicare number,” the FTC wrote. “Don’t give them any information. “
The FTC said in its report that “frauds like this, as well as errors and abuses,” charge Medicare about $60 billion a year.
In addition to going out to cheat Medicare, Hiya’s report noted that many people who call themselves robots also try to trick other people into inadvertently committing tax evasion by helping them falsely claim an “employee retention tax credit. “
With the CARES Act, employers can get ERTCs if their businesses have lost a large amount of cash or have temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
According to Hiya, there has been a huge increase in the number of scammers looking to download private data and cash by helping other people register ERTC applications.
In May, the Internal Revenue Service, the government’s tax collection office, warned in a press release that other people deserve to “avoid being scammed” in this way, as if the cash was incorrectly claimed, it then had to be refunded, with further consequences and interest.
“A tax-exempt corporation or organization can be placed in a much worse monetary scenario if it had to pay the credits than if the credits had never been claimed in the first place. “