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A Better Business Bureau heat map of attempted fraudulent scams throughout Connecticut as of Thursday, March 26, 2020. BBB of Connecticut is warning state residents to be wary of schemes attempting to dupe them into furnishing bank account numbers and other personal information if they are contacted about expected federal stimulus funds from the U.S. Treasury. (Screenshot via BBB of Connecticut)
Bad information about the novel coronavirus appears to be contagious. But there are some steps you can take to verify information on social media before you share it. The temptation to share unverified but alarming information is understandable. Many of the people who share hoaxes don’t do it to mislead; they think they’re sharing valuable information with their friends and family. But it’s easy to hit “retweet” on something that’s just not true. And false information isn’t helpful to anyone. So take a beat before you retweet. Here are some ways to verify what you’re reading before you share.
Check the age of the account and how many followers it has. A brand-new account with a dozen followers is unlikely to be one that’s breaking major national news. And Scroll back through some older posts — has the account always shared news, or was it a meme account a month ago?
Take note of how the news is being presented to you — just in the tweet? Is there a link to a longer story somewhere? Again: A screenshot of an email, text message, Google Doc or Notes app is unlikely to be good information. Check the source. Is the account attributing the information to an organization, a politician, a news outlet, or “a friend of a friend”? Good information will have a reputable name to back it up.
If there’s a link, click it. Does it go where you expected it to go? Check the URL — are you really on the site you think you’re on, or does something seem off? Look for strange spelling and anything weird in the web address.
A website you’ve never heard of is unlikely to be the first and only source for major breaking news, no matter how slick the layout looks. Check the date on the article. Is it new or old? Check the byline. Is it a real name? Click through to the bio page — does it sound real? Does the author have social media accounts where you can verify that he or she is an actual reporter? This is another opportunity to use Google Image reverse search if there’s a photo.
The best way to verify a piece of information is to see whether reliable news outlets have reported it. As news organizations, there is a burden on us to do more digging to verify things before we share them on social media. We don’t always get it right, but there’s a better chance something tweeted from your local newspaper is true than something from a completely random person with no accountability to anyone.
Read the story or post. Does the wording sound off — maybe like it was run through Google Translate a few times? That’s one way fake news websites rip off articles from legitimate sites. And trust your gut. If there’s a nagging voice in the back of your head saying, “Eh, I’m not entirely sure this is true,” or “Wow, that sounds kind of far-fetched, but who knows?” it’s better to hold off on sharing it until you can verify.
If you see someone on social media sharing information that’s not true, try to be gentle when pointing it out. Correcting false information can backfire. People are prone to be defensive and to double down when they’re challenged. We’re all a little tense right now. Be kind. And don’t forget to wash your hands.
Hours after the U.S. Senate reached agreement on a $2 trillion bill intended to provide relief to American families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Better Business Bureau warned that scammers are already attempting to dupe people into entering their bank account numbers on mock websites purporting to be gateways to the federal funds.
The scams are being distributed by email, text, telephone and social media posts, according to BBB’s Connecticut office in Cromwell, with websites tricked up to mimic the look of actual government agencies.
Those with social media accounts should not assume an offer in a social media message from a friend is legitimate, BBB warned, noting scammers have the ability to impersonate real people and urged people to cross-check any such solicitations through another channel.
The state Department of Consumer Protection and the office of Attorney General William Tong had warned Connecticut residents as early as mid-February to be wary of schemes pegged to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Better Business Bureau has an online scam tracker at BBB.org/ScamTracker where it collects information about fraudulent schemes, including a “heat map” that as of Thursday listed a few scams related to coronavirus, but otherwise addressed complaints of scams that did not appear linked to the virus.
BBB has an additional page online at BBB.org/Coronavirus offering tips for a range of consumer protection issues during the pandemic, including on the topics of price gouging and charitable donations.
Connecticut residents reported losing nearly $14 million last year to fraudulent schemes, according to the Federal Trade Commission, with identify theft and impostor scams accounting for nearly a third of the total.
