Don't fall for it: 5 On Your Side warns of coronavirus scams

The last several months have seen a huge spike in fraud related to COVID-19.

5 On Your Side’s Monica Laliberte heard from viewers getting all sorts of scams.

One example: Text messages about a package delivery. A WRAL viewer in Sanford shared a message that said, "We found a parcel from April pending for you.” It’s one of multiple text messages making the rounds, that show a scam in waiting.

The Federal Trade Commission said Americans have already lost $122 million this year to coronavirus-related fraud. $3.8 million of that was in North Carolina.

The FTC currently has more than 182,000 fraud complaints.

Another scam involves phony remedies. Scammers try to sell teas, essential oils and intravenous Vitamin C therapies for coronavirus. No cures or vaccines are approved yet to treat the virus.

Also watch out for phishing scams in out-of-the blue emails and fake websites that may have “coronavirus” or “COVID-19” in their domain names.

“People need to be very vigilant about sharing personal information if they did not initiate the contact,” warned Christina Tetreault, with Consumer Reports.

Credit card fraud is another issue.

You can sign up for push notifications from your credit card company and also check your credit reports.

The big three credit reporting agencies are offering free weekly online reports through next April.