Pause, don’t let COVID conmen flee with your money

This picture has been used for representational purpose

It is a fraud alert in these times. Our front-page report about persons becoming victims of schemers in these times has evinced plenty of reaction.

This paper also had a report on medicos starting a website where they load numbers and links for COVID assistance only after clarifying and establishing credibility. This means mining through the trove of information on social media and the buzzing WhatsApp industry, verifying it and then uploading it on their website.

Both these reports highlight correctness and accuracy. While the latter report was not about checking for fraud but veracity per se, one can dare say that volunteers will come across frauds and malicious intent when checking for accurate information.

Be extremely wary about those telling you to pay digitally and then say they are arriving with the medicine after that, or will meet you at a certain point and give you the medicine, post payment.

Heed your intuition, if there are warning bells pealing do a double check, speak to one or two persons for another perspective and then decide to part with your cash for medication, oxygen cylinders or other COVID apparatus.

Fraudsters are playing on a number of factors like desperation, the inability at times to think coherently when a loved one is fighting for life, time crunch when medicines, injections have to be procured quickly, fear, and the fact that people will be too busy to complain even if duped. Puncture that with checks and re-checks, ask a friend to help out when it comes to background checks if pressed for time, if you think something is fishy do not give your money and lastly, if you do have the opportunity complain to the police. The despicable COVID conmen need to be taken on so that they do not snare other victims.