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COVID-19 scam seeks your bank info, with false promise of cash deposit

The FTC warns that scammers are sending emails with false claims that they're government officials handing out money from a "Global Empowerment Fund."

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
  • Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Abrar Al-Heeti
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The FTC said scammers are going after some people's bank information. 

Angela Lang/CNET

The US Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday warned about scammers pretending to be government officials in order to get victims' bank account information. If people share that information, the scammers claim in an email, they'll get money from a COVID-19 "Global Empowerment Fund."

The FTC says it's all a scam, and that there's no money or fund. The agency urges recipients of messages like this not to respond, and to instead report them to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. The FTC says it'll never contact anyone by phone, email, text or social media to ask for financial information or your Social Security number. 

Read more: How to identify coronavirus stimulus scams

"Anyone who does is a scammer, phishing for your information," the agency said in a release. 

People getting an economic stimulus payment will get that money from the Internal Revenue Service, the FTC notes.

Anyone who thinks they gave their financial information to a scammer should go to IdentityTheft.gov to learn steps to protect themselves. You can also sign up for the FTC's consumer alerts to stay up to date on the latest scams.