This archive report was first published on 18 April 2020.
With the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the world, a new wave of con men, fraudsters, and cybercriminals has emerged, preying on the vulnerable and taking advantage of the situation to commit crimes.
One brazen attempt to gain entry to a home for purposes of theft was foiled when an elderly couple in Kenya sensed something was amiss and closed the door in the faces of two masked figures claiming to be there to test them for COVID-19.
Europol, the all-Europe police organization, led a global operation in March involving 90 countries to target traffickers in counterfeit medicines, fake testing kits, and substandard sanitary products. The operation resulted in 121 arrests, the seizure of dangerous pharmaceuticals worth 13 million euros, and the dismantling of 37 organized crime groups.
Many pandemic scams involve supply issues, with a European company losing 6.6 million euros to a Singapore supplier who never delivered alcohol gels and masks. In Britain, police say UK firms and individuals have lost over £1.8 million to bogus companies.
A BBC investigation found that criminals in West Africa had set up hundreds of scam websites targeting hospitals and care homes seeking to buy in bulk. There has also been an increase in attempts by cyber-creeps to suborn and abuse children at home who are spending more time online, with less supervision.
Meanwhile, in the United States, customers ordering home delivery from supermarkets can add a tip to their order, but many are deleting the tip once the delivery is made, especially those living in wealthier suburbs.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, there are also stories of kindness and resilience. Children in Kenya have been drawing rainbows for the locked-in folks to put in their windows, while doctors in the United States are pinning smiley photographs of themselves on their chests to reassure patients.
For one elderly writer, the lockdown brought offers of help from friends and neighbors, and he is now enjoying a novel he had been putting off for years, Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.
