Coronavirus scams are on the rise – and thieves are targeting your financial relief from the government.

Federal agencies like the IRS, Federal Trade Commission, Social Security Administration, and FBI have warned consumers and business owners in recent weeks to be vigilant as scammers attempt to take advantage during the pandemic of coronavirus.

“Whenever crises strike, crooks and fraudsters have a golden age,” Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy group, told CNBC earlier.

There was one outbreak of financial fraud linked to the $ 2.2 trillion coronavirus relief law enacted in late March.

The law provided for one-time stimulus payments to U.S. households, billions of dollars in low-interest small business loans, and larger unemployment benefits, among others.

Americans lost $ 13.4 million due to coronavirus fraud from the start of the year to mid-April, according to the FTC.

The scope of fraudulent activity can be considerably higher since the FTC’s report is based solely on consumer complaints.

The FBI and the Small Business Administration have issued a warning Friday to keep business owners on the lookout for scams related to two loan programs – the Paycheck Protection Program and the Emergency Disaster Loan.

The Coronavirus Relief Act created the old program, which offers forgivable loans to small businesses, and expanded the latter by providing emergency grants of up to $ 10,000 to entrepreneurs.

Federal government provided PPP funding in two slices so far – $ 349 billion in the first round and $ 310 billion in the second.

According to the FBI, thieves can attempt to steal personally identifiable information, gain access to bank accounts, or install ransomware or malware on a business owner’s computer through loan-related attacks.

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Entrepreneurs need to be on the lookout phishing patterns (electronic scams often perpetuated by email or text) and others that use the SBA logo, according to the FBI.

Federal attorneys indicted on Tuesday two businessmen for allegedly submitting fraudulent loan applications to the Small Business Administration, seeking about $ 540,000 in forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

The individuals – David A. Staveley, 52, and David Butziger, 51 – were the first in the country be charged with loan program fraud.

The crooks also have aimed the stimulus payments Americans started receiving from the IRS last month.

Individuals are eligible for up to $ 1,200 and married couples can get up to $ 2,400. Families receive an additional $ 500 per eligible child.

Bad actors can try to trick the unwary with nefarious means like fake check scams, phone calls and email phishing scams that aim to steal consumers’ personal information, officials have warned.

Google reported seeing 18 million Daily COVID-19 malware and phishing emails for a period of one week through mid-April only.

“While you wait to hear about your economic impact payment, the criminals are working hard to get you to get your hands on it,” said Don Fort, head of criminal investigations at the IRS.

Taxpayers should be wary of emails, texts, websites and social media posts regarding stimulus checks or stimulus payments that ask for money or personal information, the IRS said.

Scammers can use this information to commit tax evasion, identity theft, or steal money from financial accounts.

Social Security officials also warned recipients this week to provide personal information or pay through retail gift cards, bank transfers, internet currencies, or sending cash to maintain Social Security benefits or receive payments from the Treasury.

There has been a 209% increase in the use by criminals of personally identifiable information of the elderly to commit fraud, according to the company IDology, which largely attributes the rise to Covid-19. The company compared the averages for the months of August-January and February-March.

The crooks also try to fool the unemployed americans to give up part of their unemployment benefits.

More than 30 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in the past month and a half or so.

The crooks are grabbing the pandemonium of people rushing to claim unemployment benefits.

Among the programs is one in which crooks offer to help individuals apply for unemployment insurance benefits, according to the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Labor.

The CARES law increased the weekly unemployment benefit, increased the duration of benefits and extended it to previously ineligible groups such as the self-employed.

Fraudsters posing as state unemployment agents can also contact people and request that UI overpayments be reimbursed by credit card or gift card.

However, people who have received an overpayment will only be contacted by mail through the U.S. Postal Service, officials said.

Here are some things consumers should remember to protect themselves against fraud:

• The federal and state governments will not ask you to pay anything, such as fees and charges, up front to get relief money.

• The government will not call to ask for your social security number, bank account number, or credit card number.

• Never wire money to someone you don’t know, by gift card, money transfer, Venmo or Paypal or by any other means.

• Don’t click on links from sources you don’t know. Do not respond to text messages and emails about government checks.