In South Florida, seniors and loved ones can protect them from COVID-related fraud | Opinion

As U.S. attorney for South Florida, I enforce federal laws in a region that many seniors call home. It is also home to fraudsters looking to turn crisis into opportunity. While anyone can be a fraud victim, I anticipate, unfortunately, that many COVID-19-related fraud schemes will target the elderly.

My office is a national leader in federal elder-fraud prosecutions and senior-community outreach. We know that financial criminals associate seniors with money: savings accounts, mortgage-free homes and Medicare numbers that criminals use to commit healthcare fraud. Add to this seniors’ heightened vulnerability during the pandemic, and it becomes harder for fraudsters not to focus on seniors.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seniors appear to face a higher risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19. The CDC says that seniors, unsurprisingly, now are at higher risk of experiencing stress, which can show up as fear, worry, uncertainty and loneliness. Criminals feed on these emotions.

In response to the pandemic, I created a district task force to identify, investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. Already, my office is seeing fraud schemes that appear to target seniors.

We recently secured a preliminary injunction order shutting down the online sale of an alleged miracle cure for COVID-19 (and other senior-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s). The alleged cure involved drinking a powerful and potentially dangerous bleach product.

My message: Although there are medications that may treat symptoms, there is no cure for COVID-19. Nor is there an FDA-approved vaccine for the virus. If you see online sales of alleged COVID-19 cures or vaccines, or someone contacts you directly with a sales pitch, do not buy the product. Report the incident or information to one of two hot line numbers.

My office recently learned of a man posing as a healthcare worker who appeared to target residents of a senior living community. The imposter wore scrubs, a mask and eye protection. He approached the home of at least one elderly resident, rang the doorbell and told the senior (through a closed door) that he needed to test her for COVID-19. When the woman refused to let him in, the fraudster became aggressive. He fled when she threatened to call security.

We also have received reports of fraudsters calling older adults to obtain Social Security and Medicare identification numbers. The criminals pose as Medicare representatives calling with good news: Medicare plans to send seniors free masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. All the seniors need to do is first speak or text their Social Security or Medicare identification number into the phones.

My message: These are swindles. There are no door-to-door sales of legitimate COVID-19 tests. In addition, no legitimate government organization will call, text or show up at your door unexpectedly asking for your Medicare or Social Security number. Do not share them. Similarly, do not share debit-card numbers or other banking information in response to unsolicited requests.

Instead, report the suspicious activity.

Protecting seniors from fraud crimes is a priority for me, especially during this health emergency. If it requires my committing more resources to the area, enhancing social-media warnings or writing more articles, I will do it. I am all in. So is the rest of my office and the federal, state and local agents with whom we work.

Here is what I need you to do: Keep us informed. Report suspected COVID-19 fraud, no matter the age of the intended victim, to the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 1-866-720-5721. Where the intended victim is a senior, there is a second reporting option — the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11, which the Department of Justice launched earlier this year.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan is the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, covering the counties of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Highlands.