Scammers are always seeking opportunities that they can turn into a profit. We’ve rounded up popular scams we’ve seen impacting people in the last six months to broaden your awareness and keep you safe.
Tax Scams: Scams where perpetrators pretend to be the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are common throughout the year. You may have received a call about taxes you owe and how you’ll get prison time if you don’t pay up. With tax season taking off, you can expect to see an increase in these types of scams with a theme around issues processing your refund unless you can provide the correct account information.
Romance or Dating Scams: The name might sound funny butthey’re no laughing matter. With the prevalent use of dating apps and online profiles, they’re a common way to interact with strangers. But fraudsters know this. They’ll create fake profiles and spend a great deal of time earning trust with their victims, only to have an issue down the road that often needs money to resolve. The victims feel compelled to help their “friend,” which often results in a loss to savings.
Student Scholarship and Loan Scams – With the rising cost of education, companies either offer gimmicks for a payment to lift college loans or they’ll pretend to be a FAFSA agent that can help you apply. According to the American Bankers Association, “Over $100 MILLION is lost in scholarship scams every year and 53% of students who get private loans report them later as fraud. For student aid, always go directly to the government site https://fafsa.gov/
FBI/DEA has a warrant for your arrest. The message here is usually something like, “Unless you send money, someone (usually, law enforcement) is coming to get you.’” In real situations, you would be served papers at your address and law enforcement will not collect money in lieu of making an arrest. You are safe to ignore.
Buying and selling on social media: “Online” is one of the easiest ways to do business these days. It’s also an easy spot for a scam. In this case, the buyer or the seller, can be the victim. The Federal Trade Commission provides points to keep you safe on both sides of the transaction.Visit these links to learn more: Buying | Selling.
Computer/Phone Repair or Updates: Fraudsters will call your house, pretending to be an agent of a service provider having trouble with your computer. They’ll need your ipaddress to correct the issue. Then they will seize control of your pc until you pay up.
Some customers also receive fake bills or renewal notices from McAfee, Geek Squad, or similar companies. When the customer calls, the fake company will ask for account information to correct the issue but instead make a withdrawal.
Someone you know is in trouble: Sometimes the perpetrator says they’re in jail, other times, they’re wounded, stranded, or have gotten into another complex situation and may risk further harm. Regardless the situation, they always need money urgently and they don’t want anyone to know. Most times they pretend to be someone you already know and they have details that make it seem right.
Utility Scams: Exactly as you’d expect, someone is pretending to be from your gas, water, or electric company. They contact you and threatening to cut off services if you don’t pay immediately. Obviously in such cold conditions, people panic and respond because who wants their heat cutoff when it’s freezing out but that’s why the scam works. People pay. Other scams regarding home improvements and cost savings are under the guise of “winterizing your home.”
Overpayment scams: In this scenario you may receive a notice that you have overpaid for some service or product. The company needs to know your account information in order to credit your account. Who would not want to get more money??? It works! But instead of getting credited your money is stolen.
Unclaimed packages, issues with delivery, and a problem with your order: USPS, UPS, FedEx, and even names like Amazon, and Costco have all seen their share of impersonators involved in fraudulent activity. A link is sent by text or email. If you click the link to resolve it, you’ll soon learn, it’s not real and find one of the other issues mentioned above in similar scams.
Scammers will use any and every opportunity they can to get your attention when it comes to your money: Special occasions, holidays, political events, natural disasters, pandemics, loved ones, grants, big news in the media, and more.
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO
Always verify the information. For example: If you have a Geek Squad account. Call Geek Squad with the contact information you already know and then verify request.
Report suspicious activity immediately. Collect all of the information you can about the contact and request in case you need to report it.
NEVER click on links. Go to the sites you know and trust.
Never give passwords, PINS, account information, card numbers, other personal information, or money to anyone you don’t know and trust.
