Boulder County Coronavirus: DA Warns Of Stimulus Scams

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — Amid the spread of the new coronavirus, scam artists are pretending to be the U.S. government and offering fake stimulus payments, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.

The scams include:

• Asking people to “sign up” to receive stimulus money or “verify” personal or financial information to receive stimulus money
• Setting up fake websites or social media posts charging a fee to “speed up” receipt of stimulus money
• Sending fake checks and asking the recipient to send excess money to the scammer
• Sending fake information appearing to come from the U.S. government, saying a person must provide tax information, Social Security benefit information, or complete the census in order to receive stimulus money
• Setting up fake charities asking for donations from stimulus money received.

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The Boulder District Attorney's Community Protection Division offers the following suggestions to prevent losing money or revealing personal information:

• You will not need to verify any information to receive stimulus money
• You will not have to pay any fees to receive stimulus money
• No government agency will send messages asking you to fill out information to receive stimulus money
• No government agency will require you to go online or call after receiving your stimulus money, nor require you to send any portion of the money back
• Do not click on links in unsolicited emails, or from sources you don’t know: these can lead to fake websites or even steal personal information from your computer.
• Do your homework before donating: verify that a charitable organization is legitimate by contacting the Colorado Secretary of State’s office or CPD.

To report a scam in Boulder County, call 303-441-3700 with questions or send an email to daconsumer@bouldercounty.org.

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