There are already reports of scams involving Economic Impact Payments (EIP) and Paycheck Protection Program loans, as well as fake at-home coronavirus testing kits or vaccines. Criminals work fast to take advantage of scary situations.

Social media scams often come in two different forms.

• Viral posts or games—Answering a series of personal questions or sharing an old photo of yourself may seem like a fun way to pass the time and connect with friends. Unfortunately, scammers can use this information for malicious purposes.
• Fraudulent posts promoting products or information—Watch out for offers that seem too good to be true, or payment being requested by bitcoin or other uncommon methods. A quick internet search can usually help you determine if a post is legitimate.

Many scammers will create a sense of urgency to take advantage of you. This is especially effective during these difficult times when many people are emotionally vulnerable. Beware of high-pressure or time-sensitive asks for financial or personal information.

Don't send checks, money orders, gift cards, cash, or wire transfers to anyone you don't know. Beware of emotional grandparent scams or enticing fake check scams.

Email (phishing) and text message scams can often be identified by poor grammar or misspellings. They may also direct you to legitimate-looking links. To view the real URL of a hyperlink, hover your mouse over the linked text. Don't trust an email that doesn't sound right or is directing you to an unknown website, even if it looks like an official communication.

If you don't know or can't confirm the sender of an email, don't download any attachments they sent you. This is especially true of files ending in .zip, .exe, .doc, .pdf, or .xls.

Many phishing scams will come from authentic-looking email addresses or cleverly disguised caller ID numbers. If you can't verify a request on your own, reach out to the company that claims to have sent it.