COVID test kits scam, hurricane recovery and charity scams, and AI email security gaps

Sam Benson received a text message saying that he could order four new COVID test kits for $20. All he had to do was wire the money to a given account and provide his home address and his bank account transfer number. He followed the instructions. Two weeks later, he hadn’t received the tests, and his bank account was empty.

This is a fictional case, but it’s representative of a real problem. In October 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the availability of free COVID test kits from COVIDTests.gov. Citizens only need to provide their names and shipping addresses; they can provide email addresses if they want confirmation and delivery updates. The agency said anyone who asks for additional information or payment is a scammer. (See “How to order free COVID test kits from the federal government and avoid the scammers,” by Eunice Kim, FTC, Oct. 2, 2024.)
Scammers, of course, are impersonating the U.S. government to steal personally identifiable information (PII) and other financial data.

The FTC provides this advice to avoid scammers:

As always, if you spot a scam, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Hurricane recovery scam