LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Those $1,200 stimulus payments are on their way to your mailbox or bank account, but beware, scammers are trying to get their hands on that money too.
THV11 spoke with Attorney General Leslie Rutledge about what we need to know to protect ourselves and our money.
OK let's talk about these scams. These scammers are going to the ends of the earth to try and get our money.
"That's right," Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said. "Unfortunately in bad situations, bad actors come out and we are seeing individuals who are claiming to be the IRS or the Social Security department as people are receiving their economic stimulus checks. But the government does not call it a stimulus check. So if someone receives a phone call or email from someone claiming to be from the government, stating they need your back account info or social security number in order to get your stimulus check, that is a big red flag. First of all, the government is not calling. They are not emailing. But, if they refer to it as a stimulus check that is a red flag because the government is calling it an economic stimulus check. If you filed your tax return and received it via direct deposit, that is how the government will put in your economic impacts funds into your bank account, via direct deposit. They are not going to call and ask for your bank account number. Likewise, if you have received it in the mail in previous years, they will mail it to you.
What kind of things should we be looking out for?
"The most important thing Arkansans need to look out for is the website," Rutledge said. "A government website ends in dot gov. If you receive an email or message from someone that sends you to a dot net, claiming to be the government, that is a scam. We have seen literally thousands of fake websites pop up over the last several weeks, and we are working very closely UA Little Rock to shut down fake websites. But if you see anything that is not dot gov, that is not a government website."
If they are scammed can they come to the Attorney General's office to get help?
"We want people to visit us online at ArkansasAG.gov," Rutledge said. "They can call us at 800-482-8982 or visit us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — you name it were on it. Over the last 4-5 weeks we have literally received 10 to 12,000 phone calls. Normally we receive about 200 phone calls a week and that number has skyrocketed in the wake of the coronavirus, because bad actors are taking advantage of a bad situation.
Are we seeing any other scams out there that we as Arkansans should be paying attention to?
"So if it's a fake website or somebody claiming to be with the CDC or medial team to get info, be on the lookout." Rutledge said. "Make sure you are looking at dot gov websites only. We also want to warn Arkansans about price gouging. All of these things are important for Arkansans to know."
RELATED: Arkansas attorney general's office flooded with price gouging complaints during coronavirus pandemic
Any other things to know?
"We have also done some PSAs on child abuse," Rutledge said. "If you see something that doesn’t seem quite right, please say something. There are so many children who are normally in school for 8 hours and that is there safe haven, and unfortunately they are in very dangerous situations with adults who are not making sure they are getting the meals that they need. They are taking the stressful situation out on these little ones, so please if something doesn’t seem quite right, say something because it can really save a child’s life. We have received over 15-20 phone calls into AG office of people reporting child abuse, and we want you to call us at AG office or call the child abuse hotline at 844-SAVE-A-CHILD.