Scammers pretending to be from the government tell convincing stories to steal your money or personal information. But now they’re taking a new, layered approach — and here are some clues to spot it.
Colleen Tressler, Division of Consumer and Business Education
No one thinks their online love interest is going to scam them, but scammers are good at what they do. They establish an emotional connection with you so you’re more likely to believe that they’re an expert in cryptocurrency investing, for example. But that online love interest is a scammer. People have lost tens of thousands ― sometimes millions — of dollars to romance scammers.
Scammers spend their days pretending to be someone they aren’t, like government agents or medical staff, to con us out of information and money. That’s why we join our friends at the Senior Medicare Patrol in raising awareness about Medicare imposters during Medicare Fraud Prevention Week. If you or someone you know has Medicare, here’s advice to help protect your time, money, and information from Medicare imposters.
Gema de las Heras, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
A text message from an unknown number that simply says: hi, how are you? seems harmless. Your first instinct might be to respond to see if it’s someone you know. Or maybe tell them they made a mistake. But it’s best to ignore these type of text messages. Scammers are using this tactic as a conversation starter, so don’t text back. If you do, here’s what happens next.
Colleen Tressler, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education
Weather forecasters are predicting an active hurricane season, but if you live in large parts of the country — including those hit by tornadoes over Memorial Day Weekend — you’ve probably noticed more active storms of all types. To get started preparing for hurricane season or any storm, while avoiding scams, check ftc.gov/WeatherEmergencies for new information to help you spot, avoid, and report scams as you prepare for, deal with, and recover from extreme weather and natural disasters.
Say you’re scrolling through your social media feed and you see a post saying, “I’m the winner of $600 million from the Powerball lottery. I’m giving away $50,000 to the first one thousand people to message me.” Would you answer? If you do, you could become the target of a scam.
Social media feeds are flooded with ads offering steep discounts on brand-name products, including luxury items. But are these offers real or a scam? When a low-priced “deal” pops into your socials, take a closer look before you buy. Here’s why.
The phone rings. Your caller ID says it’s the Social Security Administration. You hesitate. You’re not expecting a call from them, and you’ve heard about impersonation scams. But something inside you makes you pick up. And everything you’re about to hear is designed to scare you into doing whatever the caller says.
When you go through a toll, you know you’ll need to pay a fee to use that road or bridge. But scammers are targeting drivers with text messages pretending to be from the tolling agency collecting “overdue toll charges.” Here’s what to know about this text scam.
Another day, another round of spam texts and emails trying to sell you things. At best, spam is annoying. At worst, it’s pushing scams or trying to install malware on your device. If you’re tired of getting spam, there are some ways to help.
