Everyday, people are scammed for their money or personal information.

Scammers will go to any length, such as using regular mail, email, the telephone and social media to prey on people’s fears and heartstrings to con them.

After receiving a voice mail last Friday stating a lawsuit had been filed against me for tax fraud from a phone number I didn’t recognize, I began researching the number on the Internet.

The phone number, it turns out, is connected to an IRS tax scam.

In searching the Federal Trade Commission’s website on the IRS tax scam another article titled “Coronavirus: Scammers follow the Headlines” caught my eye.

According to this Feb. 10 article by Colleen Tressler, consumer education specialist with the Federal Trade Commission, scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“They’re setting up websites to sell bogus products and using fake emails, texts and social media posts as a ruse to take your money and get your personal information.”

The article offered the following tips:

• Watch for emails claiming to be from the Centers for Disease Control or experts saying they have information about the virus.

• Ignore online offers for vaccinations, prevention, treatment or cure claims for the coronavirus.

• Be alert to investment opportunities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is warning people about online promotions including on social media, claiming that the products or service of publicly-traded companies can prevent, detect or cure coronavirus and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result.

Another scam on the Internet and social media right now is based on the heartbreaking video of Quaden Bayles, a 9-year-old boy from Australia, who has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, posted last week by his mother Yarraka Bayles.

In the video, Quaden can be seen crying and saying he wants to die, as his mother is asking people to educate their loved ones on the effects bullying can have on a child.

After the video went viral and gained national attention before it was taken down, conspiracy theories and false rumors about Quaden’s age surfaced and scams set up by impostors pretending to be Quaden and his mother started appearing on the Internet and social media.

According to Insider.com, “Following the conspiracies that spread about the viral incident, the Instagram accounts for both Quaden and Yarraka Bayles were deleted as of Saturday.

“Mean while dozens of people on Instagram and a few on Twitter tried to take advantage of the viral moment, crafting impostor profiles for Quaden.

While many seem to be in search of followers, some requested PayPal donations and others directed users to click scam links that promised gift cards to support Quaden and his mother.”

Whether it’s an IRS tax scam, coronavirus scam or any other type of scam;

•Never answer a telephone call from a number you don’t recognize;

•Never open an email, text or any link source you don’t know or were not expecting;

•Always do your homework: Research a telephone number, charity, organization or agency before giving out personal information or donating money.

To learn more about the latest scams and how to protect yourself, go to consumer.ftc.gov.

Susan Bryant

editorial assistant

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press