The years 2020 and 2021 were completely unprecedented as the global pandemic took a hold, and a large number of people’s lives were completely flipped upside down as a result. Many who enjoyed working in the office were forced to work from home, social engagements were postponed, and weddings and other events across the country were completely canceled.
Of course, where there are downsides, there is also going to be an opportunity. A lot of this opportunity came with an array of positives, such as the increased amount of people who could work from home and businesses unlocking the potential of the internet when it comes to shopping and promoting themselves.
At the same time though, a lot of the opportunity was ceased by people who like to pose threats to your financial situation. A lot of scams came to fruition throughout lockdown, and this article will discuss some of the most prominent that came to light throughout 2020 and 2021.
How to Avoid Scams?
The best way to avoid scams is to only interact with trusted sources. A lot of the time, we engage with scams for financial reward or because they offer some kind of financial solution and as such, if this is what you are looking for, you need to consider using apps that are much more trustworthy. Consider, for example, Deferit, which is a bill pay app that you can use which will pay your bills and you can then pay it back over 4 instalments that are interest free. This is a trusted source where you can build up your savings thanks to the financial freedom presented by it.
Common Lockdown Scams
So, what are some of the common lockdown scams that became popular?
- Health-related scams
There were a lot of scammers out there who tried to take advantage of the health concerns that people had throughout the pandemic. This meant people were pretending to be an alert regarding coronavirus or offering vaccines and taking users to a fraudulent page, where the scam eventually took place.
- Home buying fraud
This isn’t a new fraud, but due to the increase in house sales that occurred throughout the pandemic, many people tried to use this to capitalise. This can come in various forms, but one of the most common is where people will hack into the exchange of emails between solicitors and clients. They are then able to alter the bank account details of the said law firm to their own so that any payments made will be made directly to the scammer’s account.
- Dating scams
Online dating has been increasing in popularity for a number of years, and it got even more popular throughout lockdown. As such, hackers tried to make the most of it. Here, fraudsters will create a dating profile and will try to strike up a relationship with their partner. Once sufficient trust has been earned, they will try to manipulate their partner into sending them money.
