LANSING, Mich. (WWJ) -- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nesell is issuing a warning to Michiganders to beware of scammers targeting loved ones of COVID-19 victims.
The attorney general's office says scammers have been posing as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), offering to register their scam targets for funeral assistance.
FEMA is offering funds to help pay for funeral expenses that people have already paid since Jan. 20, 2020 for family members and loved ones who died of COVID-19. But according to a fraud alert from FEMA, the agency does not contact people before they register for assistance.
The scammers are targeting potential applicants for this program, offering to register them for assistance in hopes of stealing their personal data, according to Nessel's office.
As a result, the attorney general's office has reissued a consumer alert on government imposter scams. Many fraudsters send text messages and emails to potentially vulnerable people in an attempt to steal their personal info.
"I'll say it again: bad actors will do whatever it takes to make a quick buck or steal your personal information and that includes taking advantage of your grief," Nessel said in a statement.
"FEMA will not contact you until you have called their agency or applied for assistance. Anyone who contacts you unsolicited and claims to be a government employee or from FEMA is a scammer," she said.
The attorney general's office says anyone who receives a phone call they suspect to be a scam should avoid giving out personal information and hang up immediately.
Officials are offering tips to the public to avoid being scammed:
-- FEMA will not contact you until you have called FEMA or have applied for assistance.
-- The government won't ask you to pay anything to get this financial help.
-- The government won't call, text, email, or contact you on social media and ask for your social security, bank account or credit card number.
-- Don't give your own or your deceased loved ones' personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you out of the blue.
Anyone who receives a suspicious call form someone claiming to be form FEMA is directed to hang up and report it to the FEMAL Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 or the National Center for Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721.
Information on how to apply for FEMA's funeral assistance program can be found online or by calling 844-684-6333.
