How to Protect Ourselves from Covid-19 Scams?

The pandemic has created the “perfect storm” — from both a socio-psychological and economic perspective — for scammers to find easy prey in our society

Измамници също се възползват от хора, изпаднали във финансови затруднения поради COVID-19. Source: Getty

Scammers are taking advantage of people’s fears during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Common scams include phishing for personal information, online shopping, and superannuation scams.

Here is how to spot a scam and how to protect yourself.

Scamwatch is a website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and provides information to consumers and small businesses about how to recognise, avoid and report scams.

The website has received over 6,415 scam reports mentioning the coronavirus with more than $9,800,000 in reported losses since the COVID-19 outbreak began.

The Digital Health Agency is the Australian Government agency responsible for My Health Record, Australia's digital prescriptions and health referral system, and other 'eHealth' programs.

The Digital Health Agency is warning consumers to be wary of scammers offering the use of online fake vaccination certificate generators.

Dr Steve Hambleton is the Chief Clinical Advisor to the Australian Digital Health Agency. He says there is a wide range of scams relating to COVID-19 vaccines in Australia.