The COVID-related phone scams include defrauding Medicare and the IRS.
Getty Images
COVID-related phone scams are spiking again several years after the COVID-19 pandemic led much of the United States to shut down for a lengthy period, according to a new report from robocall-blocking company Hiya.
Hiya told Insider it's received hundreds of incident reports from its users who described scammers trying to obtain the information on the back of their Medicare cards.
Scammers "told me COVID test kits were free, then billed Medicare $91.00," one Hiya user reported in the app.
They "asked for my Medicare Part B card information," wrote another Hiya user who said that scammers, "said I was pre-approved to receive free COVID test kits, but only if I could provide my name & full address."
Seeing these Medicare/COVID-19 test kit scams rising in frequency, the Federal Trade Commission released a "consumer alert" earlier in June warning Medicare users to never give away their Medicare number over the phone.
"Callers who offer 'free supplies,' 'no-cost' lab tests, or say you need a replacement Medicare card are scammers trying to get your Medicare number," the FTC wrote. "Don't give them any information."
The FTC said in its report that "frauds like this, along with mistakes and abuse," cost Medicare around $60 billion each year.
In addition to trying to defraud Medicare, Hiya's report noted that many robocallers are also trying to trick people into inadvertently committing tax fraud by offering services to help them falsely claim an "Employee Retention Tax Credit."
Granted via the CARES Act, employers can receive ERTCs if their businesses either lost a substantial amount of money or shut down temporarily due to COVID-19 .
According to Hiya, there's been a sharp rise in scammers trying to gain personal information and money by helping people file for ERTCs.
In May, the Internal Revenue Service, the office of government in charge of collecting taxes, warned in a press release that people should "avoid getting scammed" in this way as if money was improperly claimed, then it must be paid back, sometimes with additional penalties and interest.
"A business or tax-exempt group could find itself in a much worse cash position if it has to pay back the credit than if the credit was never claimed in the first place."
