"Whenever crises erupt, the scammers and fraudsters have a heyday," said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy group. "We see so much fraud related to COVID-19 because people need answers, aren't thinking straight and are somewhat confused."

Government agencies, like the IRS, the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration, are warning consumers to be vigilant as fraudsters try to take advantage of them during the coronavirus pandemic.

These scams are largely related to the money the Treasury Department is sending to millions of people, in the form of a direct deposit or a paper check, over the next several weeks and months. Individuals will get up to $1,200 and married couples $2,400, plus $500 for each eligible child.

IRS officials warned of "a wave of new and evolving phishing schemes against taxpayers" in a memo issued on Thursday.

The measure, known as the CARES Act, will send financial assistance directly to Americans and offer expanded unemployment benefits , among other things.

There's been an uptick in financial fraud connected to the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package signed into law March 27.

Taxpayers should be wary of emails, text messages, websites and social media trumpeting messages about stimulus checks or stimulus payments that request money or personal information, the IRS said.

Scam artists may use this information to commit tax fraud, identity theft or steal money from financial accounts.

They may also try to entice unsuspecting victims to click on malicious hyperlinks, which can be used to remotely install malware to "potentially harvest credentials, install key-loggers or lock down the system with ransomware," the U.S. Secret Service told law enforcement and banking officials this week.

"While you are waiting to hear about your economic impact payment, criminals are working hard to trick you into getting their hands on it," said Don Fort, the agency's criminal investigation chief.

Social Security officials also warned recipients this week of providing personal information or payment via retail gift cards, wire transfers, internet currency or by mailing cash to maintain Social Security benefits or receive the Treasury's payments.

"I want our beneficiaries to be aware that scammers may try to trick you into thinking the pandemic is stopping or somehow changing your Social Security payments, but that is not true," Andrew Saul, the agency's commissioner, said. "Don't be fooled."

Scammers are also trying to trick jobless Americans into forking over some of their unemployment benefits. A record 6.6 million unemployment claims were filed last week, double the week prior, according to the Labor Department.

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Fraudsters posing as a state unemployment officials may contact people and ask for unemployment insurance overpayments to be paid back by credit card or gift card, according to Iowa's unemployment website.

However, individuals who received an over-payment will only be contacted by mail through the U.S. Postal Service, officials said.

Scammers are also using illegal robocalls to pitch things like fraudulent coronavirus treatments, vaccinations, home test kits and work-at-home schemes, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

"There is no treatment to date for COVID-19, no cure and no vaccine, no pills, potions, lotions or other products bought over the counter that are legitimately tested to treat COVID," Greenberg said. "It's all misleading."

Grandparent scams related to the coronavirus are also emerging, the FTC said. In these frauds, attackers may pose as grandchildren who are sick or stuck overseas and need quick cash to help pay a hospital bill or escape a foreign country.