JUNE 2021

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Scammers Target COVID Survivors

Government imposters have hit an all-time new low with a scheme that targets the grieving survivors of people who died of COVID-19 by offering them help to pay for their loved one’s funeral expenses.

A real government relief program will pay up to $9,000 for funeral expenses that people have paid since January 20, 2020, for loved ones who died of COVID. Survivors can apply for benefits by contacting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 844-684-6333. The number is toll-free and multi-lingual services are available.

The program is open to American citizens, nationals of U.S. territories and non-citizens legally admitted to the United States, regardless of income. To apply, you will need to show documents including receipts for your expenses and a death certificate stating that the death happened in the U.S. or its territories and was likely caused by COVID-19. The program began in April, 2021, but even before it started, FEMA said it had reports of scammers contacting folks and “offering” to register them for assistance.

Remember … FEMA will not contact you until you have called FEMA or have applied for assistance. Anyone who contacts you out of the blue and claims to be a federal employee or from FEMA is a fraudster. The government will not ask you to pay anything to get this financial help. The government will not call, text, email or contact you on social media and ask for your Social Security, bank account or credit card number. Finally, don’t give your own or your deceased loved one’s personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you out of the blue. Anyone who does is a scammer. (Source: FTC Consumer Information “Scammers target loved ones of COVID-19 victims” by Seena Gressin April 13, 2021)

Hello, June!

June is the gate-

way to summer. —

Jean Hersey

Enjoy a picnic or

an afternoon game

in the beautiful

sun!

“Shout out to the

top five fields in the

world: Wrigley,

Strawberry, Rick

Spring, Rodney

Danger and Love is

a Battle.” — George

Wallace

Did you know?

Sealing something “with a kiss” was a popular practice during medieval times, when most people were illiterate. Someone who could not sign his name on a contract could instead draw an X and then kiss the mark to make it legally binding. That’s also why the xs in xoxo stand for kisses. Ninety percent (90%) of bees don’t live in colonies, produce honey or have a queen!

(Sources: Reader’s Digest “Pucker Up! Facts About Kissing” by Emily Goodman February, 2021 and Greensburg Tribune-Review Ripley’s Believe It or Not! April 25, 2021)

When it comes to scammers, nothing is sacred — including the bond between grandparent and grandchild. Lately, grandparent scammers have gotten bolder. They might even come to your door to collect money, supposedly for your grandchild in distress.

These scams still start with a call from someone pretending to be your grandchild. They may speak softly or make an excuse for sounding different. They’ll say they’re in trouble, need bail or need money for some reason. The “grandkid” will beg you to keep this a secret — maybe they’re “under a gag order” or they don’t want their parents to know. They may put a buddy on the line who pretends to be a lawyer needing money to represent your grandchild in court.

But, instead of asking you to buy gift cards or wire money (both signs of a scam), the bad guy tells you someone will come to your door to pick up the cash. Once you hand it over, your money is gone. And then, you might get more calls to send money by wire transfer or through the mail.

To avoid these scams, take a deep breath and resist the pressure to pay. Before doing any-thing, ask for the child’s full name and birthdate. Or to prevent this in the future, create a family password and give it to the kids and grandkids. If you get a call for help, ask the caller for the family password. Then see how fast they hang up.

(Source: FTC Consumer Information “Don’t open your door to grand-parent scams” by Emily Wu April 13, 2021)

Don’t Open the Door to Scams