Important Info from Marcus Hook Police Department: Common COVID-19 Scams

The Marcus Hook Police Department feels that it is important to inform and protect our residents with regard to known scams that are taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic. While scamming, in and of itself, is nothing new, scammers often adapt their schemes in an attempt to take advantage of current events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Please review the following information to protect yourself and others from falling victim to these scams.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has reported an increase in online extortion scams during the current “stay-at-home” orders due to the COVID-19 crisis. This is due in large part to citizens using their computer devices more frequently than they would normally use them. Scammers have taken notice to this increase in online presence and are sending e-mails, threatening to release sexually explicit photographs or personally compromising videos and information to the recipient’s family, friends, co-workers, or social media contacts, if they do not pay the demanded amount of money in the time frame given. Additionally, scammers are sending e-mails with malicious files as attachments. These e-mails contain subject lines concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here is what to look out for to assist you in identifying if you may have received an extortion e-mail from a scammer:

1. The e-mail will be sent from an unknown contact and may be written in broken English or display a number of grammatical errors.
2. The recipient’s information may be displayed in the subject line of the e-mail in an attempt to catch the recipient’s attention and portray a sense of credibility to the e-mail.
3. The recipient may be accused of visiting pornographic websites, infidelity (cheating) on a significant other, or being involved in other embarrassing situations.
4. The e-mail may include a threat such as, “I had a serious spyware and adware infect your computer,” or “I have a recorded video of you” to explain their source of information.
5. The recipient of the e-mail is instructed to pay the ransom in Bitcoin, which is a virtual currency that provides anonymity to the transactions.

In order to protect yourself from scams such as this, it is recommended that you do not open e-mails or attachments from unknown parties, monitor your financial profile, do not store sensitive information, photographs, or videos on any device with internet capability, use strong passwords for your devices; and do not use the same password for multiple devices. Additionally, you are reminded to never provide any personal information to anyone who has not been properly vetted or identified as legitimate. Scammers have the capability to “spoof” their sender name in an attempt to make it look as though their malicious e-mail has been sent by a known or trusted source. If you believe that you have received such an e-mail, please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field, Cywatch@fbi.gov, or by telephone at (855) 292-3937. For your review, we have also included a link to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) Common Scams and Crimes webpage: https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes, as well as two (2) links to The Federal Trade Commission’s (F.T.C.) consumer information for online scams: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/coronavirus-scams-what-ftc-doing, and https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/taxonomy/term/871.

There are two (2) other items that deserve mentioning. The first being Zoom video conference calls, and an increase in what is being referred to as “Zoombombing”. “Zoombombing” is a term for online hackers who hijack their way into online video applications and deliver unwanted content such as hate speech and offensive visuals. It is recommended that you do not use Zoom video conference calls to discuss sensitive information, create a new ID for each meeting so that you are not as vulnerable to a hacker being able to find their way into your session, enable the “waiting room” feature so that the host of the Zoom video conference call can individually allow access to known participants, utilize password protected (two-factor authentication) for entry into the meeting, and to lock the meeting once all invited/verified participants have joined the conference call.

The second item we would like to bring to your attention is that an unsubstantiated report has been circulating with regard to solicitors going door-to-door, saying that they are part of a government initiative to provide free particulate masks. This unsubstantiated report goes on to say that the solicitor(s) will then ask you to try on the mask to make sure it fits properly. It is then reported that the mask has been “doused” with a chemical(s) that renders the wearer unconscious, allowing the criminal/fraudulent solicitor to victimize you. There is NO such government initiative with regard to solicitors going door-to-door handing out free particulate masks. We wish to remind you that Marcus Hook Borough does have an ordinance with regard to soliciting, reference Chapter 111: “Hawkers, Peddlers, and Solicitors”, which in part reads as follows:

“Every person/applicant desiring to engage in canvassing or soliciting in the Borough of Marcus Hook shall register with the Borough. Registration shall be on a form approved by the Borough Council and available from the Borough Manager/Secretary. When the Manager/Secretary has approved the issuance of a solicitor's or canvasser's license, the applicant shall be issued a license. The license shall contain the information required on the application and the expiration date, and one of the photographs which was submitted with the application shall be attached. The license shall be carried by each solicitor or canvasser at all times when engaged in such activity and shall be exhibited for inspection to any person approached for purposes of solicitation or canvass.”

If you have any question(s) as to the validity of a solicitor, please do not hesitate to contact 911 and the Marcus Hook Police Department will investigate.