Are you afraid of Ebola? A lot of people out there hope you are, and that you will part with your money because of it.
Joe Schwarcz, McGill University’s director of the office for science and society, may have said it best when he told the Guardian, “Fear tends to open people’s wallets at the same time that it closes people’s minds.”
Whenever disaster strikes or fears are heightened, rest assured that scammers are not far behind. The attorneys general of several states have issued warnings for people to be alert to the dangers. It’s up to individuals to be skeptical enough to avoid being taken.
Reports from around the country show that scammers come in many forms. Some peddle cures, whether in the form of essential oils, supercharged vitamins or cures that involve things such as colloidal silver.
Some involve fake charities, which are difficult to distinguish from real charities providing aid to stricken areas. The fake ones exist only to line the pockets of the people asking for money.
Finally, some send you emails with attachments that promise important information about the disease. But the attachments really are viruses that install malware on your computer, opening a conduit to more scammers and possibly compromising your financial security.
The scams may show up on social media. They may appear on YouTube. They come disguised as information from trusted friends.
State and federal officials try to stay atop the frauds, find the perpetrators and prosecute them. But it isn’t easy. Some exist overseas and are difficult to find. Others are adept at staying just within the confines of the law.
The Guardian reported on one man who claims to have made money selling a vitamin C supplement under the name “Ebola-C.” The product doesn’t claim to cure anything, but the name is an obvious effort to connect it with protection against the disease.
There are things consumers can do to protect themselves. The first, and most effective, is to arm themselves with facts. Health officials are clear that Ebola cannot be transmitted through the air the way the flu virus or the common cold is spread. One must come into direct contact with the bodily fluids of a person who already is exhibiting symptoms of the disease. At the moment, there is no outbreak of Ebola in the United States.
Also, the FDA has approved neither a cure nor a vaccine for the disease, although some seemingly successful drugs have been produced and are being made available for victims. The World Health Organization has said millions of doses of an experimental vaccine should be available in 2015.
Consumers also can check with the Better Business Bureau to see whether a charity is registered and legitimate.
Fear can be the enemy of sound financial decisions. So, unfortunately, can noble emotions, such as empathy and a desire to help people in need. Because the world is crawling with people devoid of these emotions, it pays to be aware and savvy.