I appreciate those who are sincerely trying to be the best they can be under some of the most trying conditions our generation has ever known. As the dramatic numbers of infected, sick and dying increase they give us all pause to reflect on the fragility of life itself.

The mountain of articles, posts and blogs that offer up to date information to understand what is happening in terms of the pandemic, the hospitals ability to react to the onslaught of very sick people, the economic meltdown and what the government is doing are all great on their own. An almost equal number offer support and encouragement to the largely stay at home population and stressed business owners fighting for their economic life.

However, and this is a big however, the charlatans are at the gates. Offers of quick money to strapped individuals and businesses hide the levels of interest and collateral that are buried in the fine print. Here are four things to avoid when seeking a new SBA loan, published by Inc. on April 2, 2020.

You can read the full article here https://www.inc.com/brit-morse/paycheck-protection-program-sba-loan-scams.html

      1. Don’t reveal personal financial information
      2. Don’t pay a cent
      3. Don’t work with unknown lenders
      4. Don’t buy into fast money promises

Where were all the online sellers of critical supplies like hand sanitizers, masks and gloves before? Are we to believe that they have just been sitting on stockpiles of inventory? How about the scoundrels who bought up massive amounts of toilet paper, paper towels and sanitizers and tried to sell them at exorbitant prices?

The good and bad in humanity surface at times of crisis. The good reaches out to help their fellow citizens while the bad tries to capitalize or victimize them.

It is a pity that such people exist. I equate them to the internet trolls who wreak havoc with computer viruses and ransomware, except the current situation impacts the well being and possibly the lives of our fellow countrymen.  If these people were cast in a movie they would be dressed in black.

Let me not start on the hoarders. They are just selfish, self-involved and care only about their situation.  The first wave of such behavior was the run on toilet paper. Ridiculous and ill-conceived it demonstrated an “I’m up, pull up the rope” mentality. I got mine the heck with you. Sad indeed.

It is our responsibility to call out the instances of such unthinkable behavior and to highlight those who take supporting and reaching out to help others as something that the world needs. These are the folks that give us hope for the future. We need to know that they exist to balance the poor spirits who don’t understand how to be a good human being.

The only thing needed for evil to prevail is for good people to be silent.