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Earlier this year, we told you that scammers were lying and saying the FTC is sending people Coronavirus relief money. Now we’re seeing a new version of the phishing email scam that looks like it’s from our Acting Chairwoman, Rebecca Slaughter. The Acting Chairwoman didn’t email you. Scammers who spoofed her email did.

Here are 3 things you need to know about this scam:

  1. The FTC does not send people Coronavirus relief money. The Treasury Department and the IRS are handling that. Learn more at irs.gov/coronavirus.
  2. The FTC won’t email, call, text, or message you on social media to ask for your personal information. We won’t ask for your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number; date of birth; address; or phone number.
  3. Don’t reply to an unexpected email that asks for your personal information. Scammers could use that information to rip you off.

If you get an email that asks for your personal information and you think it could be a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Your report helps us find and stop scammers. You can also forward phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org.

Learn about other Coronavirus scams and what we’re doing to stop them.

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Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts
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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

GS
March 17, 2021
It's scary that the FTC can be "spoofed".
charky
March 22, 2021

In reply to by GS

ANY email address can be spoofed. The scammers are not hacking into FTC computers, they simply change the "from" information on the emails they're sending out. No real skill required.
Ysteb elwof
March 17, 2021
Where can I send info regarding an attempt to scam?
FTC Staff
March 18, 2021

In reply to by Ysteb elwof

If you get an email or that asks for your personal information and you think it could be a scam, or want to report other scams, report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Aree Rawangsranoi
March 17, 2021
Thanks for the notification
mautynboiyleroi
March 18, 2021
Seems if a way could be devised to catch these scammers and some laws passed to sentence the culprits to some lengthy and unpleasant federal time these scams might become a lot less frequent. Surely there are some tech-savvy people out there who can devise a way to catch the scammers. I am confident not all highly intelligent people are crooks.
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