$60,000,000 Was Stolen from Americans Who Thought More Stimulus Was Coming
Rachel Bucchino
Stimulus Scam,
A pair of Indonesian hackers were arrested last month after stealing $60 million from pandemic aid, money set aside by the federal government that served to help Americans struggling in financial turmoil due to the pandemic.
A pair of Indonesian hackers were arrested last month after stealing $60 million from pandemic aid, money set aside by the federal government that served to help Americans struggling in financial turmoil due to the pandemic.
More than 20 million Americans received text messages that directed them to several fraud U.S. government websites, authorities in the Southeast Asian nation said.
Recipients of the messages entered personal information, including social security numbers, to the websites to obtain a $2,000 payment from an unemployment assistance program.
But the information was, instead, used to steal millions of dollars worth of pandemic relief.
“Some 30,000 U.S. citizens were scammed and the government's financial loss is up to $60 million,” East Java police chief Nico Afinta told CBS News.
The duo behind the international scam was arrested in March after the police were alerted by U.S. authorities. The pair could get up to nine years in prison under the nation’s electronic information law.
Police in Indonesia didn’t note the duration of the scam.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also uncovered that Americans have already lost more than $300 million in stimulus scams from the first and second rounds of coronavirus relief, a figure that’s likely to be larger as the third stimulus payments start reaching the pockets of Americans.
The FTC says it’s very common for scammers to use people’s personal information to get access to federal aid.
Experts have pointed out that scammers can easily obtain a person’s date of birth, workplace, family history, past addresses, email, and phone, just by purchasing the data from a data broker for a small fee. With this type of information, scammers can convince government agency workers that they are, in fact, legitimate, enabling them to steal the stimulus payment.
Other methods include scammers making unsolicited phone calls, as well as sending emails, texts, or social media messages, where scammers claim to be the Internal Revenue Service or another government agency and ask for credit card information. The IRS and Treasury Department, however, never ask people for that information.
Scammers have also pressured recipients into thinking that a purchase is required to receive a direct payment, and have also even used high-pressure tactics, offered expedited delivery of the payment for a fee, and threatened loss of the money if there isn’t immediate action.
Experts have encouraged Americans to be cautious in trusting others with banking information, as they could be associated with a massive stimulus scam.
Rachel Bucchino is a reporter at the National Interest. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill.