Knowing where to go to for legitimate, accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues can be challenging. There are many sources of information – from social media and blogs to newspapers and television. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office offers these tips for Ohioans to stay up-to-date safely:
- For free, updated information about changes in the coronavirus pandemic, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. Reliable information is also available from the World Health Organization (WHO). For updates closer to home, be sure to visit Ohio’s own coronavirus website through the Ohio Department of Health.
- With so many electronic devices in use by Ohioans, this is a great time to review cybersecurity tips, precautions and warnings. The National Cyber Security Alliance has launched a helpful resource, the COVID-19 Security Resource Library, which has lots of information and links to advice from organizations and agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
- For updates regarding federal tax filings and changes related to COVID-19, visit the Internal Revenue Service’s coronavirus webpage.
- The state of Ohio has extended unemployment benefits. To access or learn more about those benefits, visit the Ohio Department of Job and Family Service’s website.
- Check legitimate media and government sources for updates about federal government payments to Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t fall for scams that target your personal information under the guise of issuing you a pandemic-related payment. The government will never ask for any upfront payment and will not call you to request Social Security, credit card or bank account numbers.
At the moment, many companies are adjusting their normal policies. Always check their official website for accurate updates. You should manually type the company’s website address instead of clicking links in emails from unknown sources. The website addresses for most governments and charities end in .gov or .org.
For an email sent by a company, hovering your curser over the sender’s email address can reveal if the sender is not actually who they claim to be. If the end of the email address does not match the legitimate web address of the company, that is a red flag that the email might be from a scammer.
Consumers who suspect a scam or an unfair business practice should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at
www.OhioProtects.org or 800-282-0515.