{"id":2284,"date":"2021-02-01T06:55:01","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T06:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/?p=2284"},"modified":"2021-01-31T18:22:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T18:22:19","slug":"2020_topten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/2020_topten\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Fraud.org report shows link between COVID-19, recession, and scams preying on Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, as millions of Americans struggled to make ends meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers took advantage of an unprecedented opportunity to defraud consumers. <\/span>That is the conclusion of\u00a0<\/span>Fraud.org\u2019s<\/span> annual Top Ten Scams Report<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0which\u00a0<\/span>goes live today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The combination of widespread economic vulnerability and social isolation<\/span> brought on by the pandemic<\/span>\u00a0correlated with an increase in two specific fraud categories last year: bogus prize\/sweepstakes\/gift scams and romance scams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Ten Scams of 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Internet: Gen Merchandise<\/li>\n
  2. Phishing\/Spoofing<\/li>\n
  3. Fake Check Scams<\/li>\n
  4. Friendship & Sweetheart Swindles<\/li>\n
  5. Prizes\/Sweepstakes\/Free Gifts<\/li>\n
  6. Advance Fee Loans, Credit Arrangers<\/li>\n
  7. Computers: Equipment\/Software<\/li>\n
  8. Internet: Auctions<\/li>\n
  9. Investments: Other<\/li>\n
  10. Internet: Extortion<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Sweepstakes scams<\/strong>, which made up nearly a quarter (23.78 percent) of all complaints received by Fraud.org in 2020, topped the list. <\/span>The number of complaints we received nearly doubled versus the prior year. In these scams, fraudsters contact a victim to let them know they have won a prize or other monetary reward. The catch is <\/span>that before<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0money can be collected, the victim must send payment. If the victim sends the money, they then enter a cycle where they are required to continually send additional payments in search of the fictitious \u201cprize.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Another fast-growing type of fraud in 2020 was friendship and sweetheart swindles, also known as romance scams<\/strong>. The number of complaints received at Fraud.org about such scams increased by 30.06 percent in 2020, making it the fifth-most reported category of scam, with a median loss of $1,628. Given the social isolation brought on by the COVID pandemic, this data underscores the warnings that Fraud.org and other organizations have raised about the rising risk of such scams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    A new form of fraud entered the top ten in 2020, and they are particularly ugly: extortion scams.<\/span><\/p>\n

    “As the pandemic and the recession continue to grind on in 2021, we are paying special attention to so-called ‘Internet extortion’ scams<\/strong>, which entered the top ten scams for the <\/span>first time<\/span> last year,” said NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud John Breyault and report author. Such scams <\/span>fall into two broad <\/span>sub-<\/span>categories.\u00a0<\/span>The first category is<\/span> \u201csextortion\u201d scams<\/strong>, where consumers receive a message where the scammer threatens to release embarrassing photos, videos, or other personal information to the <\/span>vic<\/span>tims’<\/span>\u00a0friends and family.\u00a0<\/span>The second<\/span>\u00a0sub-category involves \u201cpsychic\u201d services<\/strong>, where the scammer claims\u00a0<\/span>to had discovered that a \u201ccurse\u201d or other tragic event is about to befall the victim. Only by paying a significant fee ca<\/span>n the victim have the \u201ccurse\u201d lifted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    While the red flags of these scams vary from case to case, a good rule of thumb for recognizing these crimes is <\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>a request for money to be sent<\/span>\u00a0to someone you have never met in person<\/span> is almost always the hallmark of a scam. Also, being aware that scammers are adept at creating a sense of urgency in their victims (<\/span>e.g.,<\/em>\u00a0\u201cPay now or you\u2019ll miss out on this prize!\u201d) is a good way to recognize these scams<\/span>\u00a0for what they are.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Top Ten Scams Report<\/a> was compiled from more than 5,700 complaints filed by consumers with Fraud.org in 2020. <\/span>We share\u00a0<\/span>these complaints<\/span>\u00a0with our network of law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can investigate and help put fraudsters behind bars.<\/span>\u00a0If<\/span>\u00a0you or someone you know<\/span>\u00a0has<\/span> been a victim of a scam, we urge you to\u00a0<\/span>file a complaint at Fraud.org via\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>online complaint form<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The arrival of COVID vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel. But scammers are finding ways of using the vaccine to separate consumers from their money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2284"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2306,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284\/revisions\/2306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}