The Federal Trade Commission is one of the agencies consumers are supposed to turn to when they’ve been defrauded by scam phone calls, so it — sadly — makes sense that some fraudsters have decided that the best way to con victims is to pretend they are calling from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center. [More]
scammers
Don’t Fall For The ‘Missed Delivery Notice’ Email Scam This Holiday Season
By 12.9.16
If you’re like everyone else you know, you’ve probably been doing — or plan to do — a bit of online holiday shopping this year. Missing a delivery could put a serious kink in your day, but don’t let that fear draw you into a scammer’s net. [More]
Three Return Scams Retailers Will Be Looking For This Holiday Season
By 11.23.16
We’ve barely waded into the hectic holiday shopping season, but retailers are already preparing for a rush of returns after the big day — and the scams that inevitably go along with them. [More]
Immigrants Face Uptick Of Attempted Fraud
By 11.22.16
Just as when the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked four months ago on the White House’s hopes to enact large-scale immigration reforms, the recent presidential election has left millions of immigrants uncertain about their status making them potential targets for fraudsters. [More]
FCC: Don’t Be Fooled By Callers Posing As Utility Employees Demanding Payment
By 11.15.16 — Updated: 2.2.17
We’ve heard about scammers who call up consumers and pretend to be utility company workers, demanding immediate payment. And as we head into the winter, when many people might be endangered by an interruption in heat, the Federal Communications Commission is warning folks to be especially wary of such calls. [More]
No, The IRS Will Not Call You To Verify Your Tax Return Information
By 3.14.16
Because trying to steal money from others will never get old for criminals, scammers are constantly changing tacks to come up with new ways to rake in their ill-gotten gains. This tax season, there’s a new trick bedeviling taxpayers over the phone. [More]
Identity Theft Victim Confronts Alleged Scammer
By 3.8.16
There’s an episode of Friends in which Monica’s identity is stolen and she goes on to become best friends with the woman posing as Monica Geller, you know, before she goes to jail. Things didn’t so quite the same for a Los Angeles woman who says she confronted a couple she alleges used her identity to open credit card accounts and file income tax returns. [More]
IRS: Email, Text Scams Targeting Taxpayers Up 400% This Year
By 2.19.16
It’s tax season, which means it’s the prime time for scammers to crawl out from underneath their scammy rocks and try to nab taxpayers’ personal info. So far, this year’s electronic tax scams are even more prevalent than before, the Internal Revenue Service says, surging 400%. [More]
Police: Scammer Punched NYC Tourist In The Face For Refusing To Buy Statue Of Liberty Tickets
By 2.17.16
If you don’t want to visit the Statue of Liberty, that’s your choice, and you shouldn’t be punched in the face because of it. That’s why police in New York City have arrested a man who’s accused of hitting a tourist and knocking him to the ground after a failed attempt to sell him sightseeing tickets. [More]
Diabolical IRS Phone Scammers Call SWAT Team, Tell Victim They’re There To Collect
By 2.11.16
IRS phone scams, where the perpetrators call up victims and demand that overdue taxes that they don’t owe be paid by prepaid debit cards, are cruel schemes that vacuum millions of dollars out of the pockets of people who don’t know any better. The only way they could be worse would be if they actually endangered victims’ safety while wasting law enforcement time and taxpayer money. They’ve figured out how to do this. [More]
Colorado Investigating Scammers Who Hoard DMV Appointments, Sell Them To Undocumented Residents
By 1.8.16
When something is free, but it’ll take a long time to get it, there’s always the chance that someone will try to take advantage of the situation to make a profit off impatient people. In Colorado, the attorney general’s office is investigating a scalping scheme that involves scammers hoarding driver’s license appointments with the Department of Motor Vehicles, then turning around and selling them to undocumented residents. [More]
6 Things We Learned About Bluetooth ATM Skimmers In Mexico
By 9.17.15
If you took a summer vacation this year, you may have spent it on a beach, on a boat, or at a theme park. Security journalist Brian Krebs spent his summer vacation doing something that sounds super-fun to us: hunting down compromised ATMs in Mexico. He found quite a few, and also learned who might be behind all of his fraud. [More]
Police: Pennsylvania Woman Faked Cancer For Two Years To Scam Thousands In Donations
By 8.12.15
Any scam that takes money from unsuspecting folks is bad, of course, but those that prey on people trying to help those in need seem to leave an extra nasty taste in the mouth: police in Pennsylvania say one woman took advantage of the kindness of others by pretending she had cancer for two years, allegedly raking in thousands of dollars in donations. [More]
CFPB Asks Google, Bing & Yahoo To Help Stop Student Loan Debt Scams That Imply Affiliation With Feds
By 6.22.15
The Internet is teeming with scammers, fraudsters, and hustlers determined to part consumers from their money, and as a $1.2 trillion venture, student loans often present an attractive avenue for these ne’er-do-wells. In order to better protect individuals from such schemes, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is enlisting the help of the country’s major search engines. [More]
IRS Impersonation Scam Is Largest In History, Cost Consumers $15.5M
By 3.12.15
The 2015 tax season has been fraught with complications, from the fraudulent use of tax returns to the “dirty dozen” scams meant to tear consumers away from their money. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing exploring ways in which consumers could better be protected from such hustles, federal investigators divulged more information about one of the most prevalent tax-time scams in recent years, saying it has now targeted 366,000 taxpayers to the tune of $15.5 million. [More]
Report: Stolen Credit Card Information Used By Fraudsters To Make Purchases With Apple Pay
By 3.6.15
A rash in data breaches at national retailers may have led fraudsters to use Apple Pay to make big-ticket purchases with credit card information stolen during national data breaches. [More]
Suspected Serial Scammer Arrested After New Roommate Googles Her
By 11.14.14
We all do it — looking up someone you’ve just met on the Internet, whether it’s a first date or a job candidate — and in at least one case, Googling a new roommate helped one woman escape a potentially scammy relationship. [More]
Woman Accused Of Faking Cancer To Get Donations Arrested On Her Way To Film TV Show
By 8.19.14
An Illinois woman who’s been accused of pretending both she and her son have cancer in order to scam people out of money was reportedly on her way to film an interview for the Dr. Phil show when cops caught up with her, warrant in hand. [More]
