Federal authorities and private businesses, including tech companies, have teamed up to disrupt “hundreds” of COVID-19 scams, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
“The department will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement and private sector partners to combat online COVID-19 crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s criminal division. “We commend the responsible internet companies that are taking swift action to prevent their resources from being used to exploit this pandemic.”
The ongoing partnership so far has shut down an illegal website pretending to solicit donations to support the Red Cross’s COVID-19 relief efforts, phony websites designed to trick American citizens into divulging their private information and hackers attempting to install malware on legitimate websites.
Authorities also busted fraudsters who produced websites designed to mirror links to apply for COVID-19-related stimulus payments. The fake sites were designed to capture visitors’ personal and financial information.
As of Tuesday, more than 3,600 complaints about COVID-19 scams have flooded the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the department said.
Tips included advertisements for fake cures, fraudulent charity drives or other types of scams.
The Justice Department is also working to provide COVID-19-related training and technical assistance in other countries through the International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) program.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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