Alliance Issues COVID-19 Fraud Warning
April 24, 2020. Washington, DC — “It is heartbreaking, when we all need to support one another, that there are those who are taking advantage of people during this time of vulnerability.” said Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance), the nation’s leading Hispanic health advocacy group. The Alliance emphasized:
DO NOT give out your personal information to callers posing that they are from Medicare, IRS, or Social Security. Medicare, IRS, or Social Security will never call asking for your personal information. Scammers are calling posing to be from the IRS or Social Security Administration and asking for banking and other personal information to process stimulus checks. If you have not received a stimulus check that you are expecting go to the Get My Payment Tool at the IRS website. The IRS Get My Payment tool is available at https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment. However, the tool will be unavailable this Friday and Saturday. It is being taken offline for updating following many reports of consumers not being able to get needed information. The Alliance also warned of a rise in COVID-19 scams in social media and by phone offering Medicare patients a “COVID-19 Kit” and asking for banking information or other personal information. “If you get a call like this, hang up and report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC),” warned Dr. Delgado. Fraud can be reported to the FTC at www.ftc.gov/complaint.
DO NOT drink or inject bleach or other disinfectants to try to kill COVID-19. Ingestion of bleach or disinfectants like Clorox or Lysol can cause serious injury or death. If you or someone you know drinks bleach or disinfectant please, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. This warning comes after a rash of fraudulent social media promoting use of bleach and disinfectants.
Be aware of FDA warnings. The Alliance also informed its service provider network of today’s drug safety communication by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning that the anti-malarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can cause dangerous abnormalities in heart rhythm in coronavirus patients, and in some cases death. The FDA warned these drugs should be used only in clinical trials or hospitals where COVID-19 patients can be closely monitored for heart problems.
For the latest on COVID-19 visit our website www.healthyamericas.org in English or in Spanish at www.nuestrasalud.org. “You can also call our bilingual and toll-free Su Familia helpline at 1-866-783-2645 for information that you can trust,” concluded Dr. Delgado.
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About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (The Alliance) — The Alliance is the nation’s foremost science-based source of information and trusted advocate for the health of Hispanics in the United States with a mission to achieve the best health for all. For more information visit us www.healthyamericas.org
