{"id":746,"date":"2020-02-27T02:03:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T02:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fraud.flywheelsites.com\/2019_top_ten_alert\/"},"modified":"2020-11-09T07:30:42","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T07:30:42","slug":"2019_top_ten_alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/2019_top_ten_alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Spot the top ten scams plaguing Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s National Consumer Protection Week<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and there\u2019s never been a better\u00a0<\/span><\/span>time<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to brush up on your scam\u00a0<\/span><\/span>IQ<\/span><\/span>. To help, we\u2019ve released our annual Top Ten Scams report<\/span><\/span>, based on\u00a0<\/span><\/span>thousands of<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>complaints submitted\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by real consumers like you\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to Fraud.org<\/span><\/span>\u00a0last year.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Each year, we monitor and analyze the complaints to track trends in scams and how con artists are tweaking their pitch to succeed at finding new victims. Our data helps us identify emerging scams we\u2019d never heard of, what scams are fading into the sunset, and new twists on old classics.<\/p>\n

So\u00a0without further ado, here are the most reported scams from\u00a02019 and, just as important, tips on how to spot and avoid them so that you don\u2019t become a statistic on next\u00a0year\u2019s\u00a0report\u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n

1. Internet\u00a0<\/strong>m<\/strong>erchandise\u00a0<\/strong>s<\/strong>cam<\/strong>s<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:<\/strong>\u00a0Scammers offer cut-rate merchandise on the Internet in the hopes that consumers looking for a deal will buy.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:\u00a0<\/strong>Buy from reputable sellers. If the price for an item is well below the price offered on e-commerce sites like Amazon, there\u2019s a good chance it\u2019s a scam, particularly if the merchandise is electronics, luxury apparel, or\u00a0medications.<\/p>\n

2. Phishing\/<\/strong>s<\/strong>poofing<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:\u00a0<\/strong>Scammers use legitimate-looking emails or spoofed Caller ID to get consumers to think they\u2019re getting an email or phone call from the government, their bank or another entity. Once the scammer has the victim\u00a0convinced\u00a0they\u2019re someone they\u2019re not, they\u00a0threaten them to get money or sensitive personal information.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:\u00a0<\/strong>If someone you don\u2019t know calls you on the phone or sends a threatening email demanding quick payment, it\u2019s likely a scam. Delete the email or hang up the phone.<\/p>\n

3. Fake prizes, sweepstakes, or free gifts<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:\u00a0<\/strong>The scammer contacts you to let you know you\u2019ve won a big prize. All you\u00a0must\u00a0do to collect is pay them a fee for \u201cinsurance,\u201d \u201ctaxes,\u201d \u201cprocessing\u201d or some other reason.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:<\/strong>\u00a0The prize doesn\u2019t exist. They\u2019re just after your money. If someone asks you to pay money to win money, it\u2019s a scam.<\/p>\n

4. Fake check scams<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:\u00a0<\/strong>Someone you\u2019ve never met in person sends you a check and asks you to deposit it into your personal bank account. Then they ask you to send them some or all the proceeds from the check via wire transfer, by buying a gift card, or some other method.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:\u00a0<\/strong>Don\u2019t deposit the check and definitely don\u2019t send money based on funds that may appear available if you deposit it. The bank will catch on, and you\u2019ll potentially be left owing the bank for the negative balance.<\/p>\n

5. Advance fee loans, credit arrangers<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:\u00a0<\/strong>Scammers offer a \u201cguaranteed\u201d credit card or bank loan to consumers looking for cash. All the victim\u00a0needs to\u00a0do is pay an up-front fee to\u00a0obtain the loan.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:\u00a0<\/strong>Only look for loans or credit cards from reputable lenders. If a lender offers you a \u201cguaranteed\u201d credit card or loan without a credit check, it\u2019s probably a scam.<\/p>\n

6. Romance scams\/sweetheart swindles<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:\u00a0<\/strong>Someone you\u2019ve met online on a dating website, online forum or via social media quickly develops a friendship or romantic relationship with you. Eventually, they ask for money\u00a0for a visit, to cover an unexpected emergency, or some other reason.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:<\/strong>\u00a0Don’t leave protected dating website messaging platforms\u00a0for unprotected text or instant messaging chats. Never send money to someone you\u2019ve only met online or talked to over the phone.<\/p>\n

7. Recovery\/refund scams<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:\u00a0<\/strong>If you\u2019ve lost money in a scam, someone may claim to be able to recover those losses for you. The only catch it that you\u00a0must\u00a0pay a fee or hand over sensitive personal information like bank account numbers or grant access to your computer in order to recover your losses.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:\u00a0<\/strong>You should never pay money or give up personal information in order to recover fraud losses. Anyone who claims to be able to help you recover your losses in exchange for a fee is just trying to scam you.<\/p>\n

8. Computer equipment\/software<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:\u00a0<\/strong>Also known as the tech support scam, a caller may claim to be with a well-known software company like Microsoft or an anti-virus company and have information that your computer is infected with malware. They request remote access to your computer in order to \u201cdiagnose\u201d the problem. They may then urge you to buy an expensive tech support solution to \u201cfix\u201d the problem.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:<\/strong>\u00a0If someone calls you unsolicited offering tech support, it\u2019s almost certainly a scam. Scary pop-ups on your phone or computer may also urge you to call a phone number to get the problem fixed. Don\u2019t fall for those either as they are simply a lure to get you paying for tech support you probably don\u2019t\u00a0need.<\/p>\n

9. Investment related scams<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:<\/strong> Someone may offer you \u201cguaranteed\u201d returns with little or no risk in exchange for a big up-front investment.\u00a0Investment in gold coins, precious metals, Bitcoin, real estate, or Internet startups\u00a0are often used to\u00a0entice unwary investors.<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:<\/strong>\u00a0Investigate anyone offering to make an investment on your behalf.\u00a0Get documentation about the track record of the investment and check to make sure the \u201cadvisor\u201d is registered with the state or federal government. If they pressure you to make a decision right away, chances are that it\u2019s a scam.<\/p>\n

10. Family\/friend imposter<\/strong><\/p>\n

The set-up:<\/strong>\u00a0A caller claims to be a family member or friend in trouble (or someone helping them, like a lawyer, doctor, or policeman). They urge the victim to send money to help out their loved one. The scammer may have details about your friend or family member (likely gleaned from social media).<\/p>\n

How to avoid it:<\/strong>\u00a0Hang up the phone and call your friend or family member yourself. If they don\u2019t answer, try another relative who knows them to verify\u00a0what\u2019s going on. Any urgent request to send money without verification is almost certainly a scam.<\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019ve studied up on the most prevalent scams, we\u2019re all vulnerable. If you\u2019ve been approached by a scammer or lost money,\u00a0report the scam. You can help other consumers avoid these and other scams by filing a complaint at Fraud.org via our\u00a0secure online complaint form<\/a>. We share complaints with our network of nearly 200 law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can and do put fraudsters behind bars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most common frauds reported by consumers in 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1220,"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\/746"}],"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=746"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2217,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions\/2217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}