A top official with the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday that coronavirus-related fraud could lead to $30 billion in federal relief funds being stolen by criminals.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongress has appropriated nearly $3 trillion to support the American economy, the largest-ever economic stimulus package in U.S. history,\u201d Secret Service Assistant Director Michael D\u2019Ambrosio testified during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on coronavirus-related fraud.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that \u201ceven if we assume a very low rate of fraud, of just 1 percent, we should still expect more than $30 billion will end up in the hands of criminals. And that is likely an underestimation of the risk, and just one portion of the full range of risks at play.\u201d<\/p>\n
D\u2019Ambrosio noted that much of this theft is occurring online, such as through cyber criminals targeting Americans with malicious coronavirus-related phishing emails, or through targeting cyberattacks at the insecure networks of those working from home.<\/p>\n
The Secret Service has taken steps to counter these scams, with D\u2019Ambrosio saying the agency had disrupted \u201chundreds\u201d of scams and prevented around $1 billion from being lost to malicious actors.<\/p>\n
\u201cCountering criminal schemes seeking to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic has become a primary investigative focus for the U.S. Secret Service, and will remain so over the coming years,\u201d D\u2019Ambrosio said.<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a spike in scams against Americans, including those targeting small business relief funds and stimulus checks from the government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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