Scammers call around claiming to have a reimbursement check from the Payment Protection Plan (PPP protects members against losses due to uncollected debts from other members in the event of bankruptcy or insolvency).

“I’ve got hundreds of cases here and yours is one of them”, the scammer will say. “I’ll send the paperwork out and all you have to do is sign them and send them to the bank; this is the address”.

Depending on how “generous” you are with the details, the scammers might ask for more personal information, to “confirm your identity”, such as date of birth or even credit card number.

How to avoid: it doesn’t matter who contacts you, don’t give personal info to anybody! Official bodies will already have all the details of anyone they are making payments to.