Stimulus update: Avoid Facebook scam promising ‘$540/month’
Asher Notheis
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A Facebook scam is making the rounds on social media. It promises anyone who clicks it a payment of “$540/month.”
The ad imitates an IRS webpage and claims the government offers “health credits” to help people pay for groceries and other necessities. It also warns that there is a limited amount of time to receive the offer, according to the Motley Fool.
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“Today is the last day for Americans to get $540/month thanks to this new gov benefit,” the ad reads. “Click below to claim.”
While the American Rescue Plan, which the ad references, did include subsidies to lower healthcare costs for 13 million qualifying United States residents, the ad itself is fake. Unless someone is an expert on the American Rescue Plan, it is likely the ad will give off the impression that it is real.
If someone encounters what appears to be a good offer, a good way to know if it is a scam is to check several things regarding the ad. Things to check include the url. If the link claims to be a government website but redirects people to something other than a “.gov” link, that’s a red flag. Also, if the ad is poorly written, it’s probably illegitimate.
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The best tactic to avoid getting scammed is to avoid clicking on ads that appear suspect.
On Tuesday, the IRS warned taxpayers of both phishing and smishing scams as the 2022 tax season wraps up. Phishing is an email sent by fraudsters claiming to be the IRS or another tax or financial organization, and smishing is the same but via text message.