FTC warns scammers are impersonating its employees to steal money

FTC warns scammers are impersonating its employees to steal money

March 19, 2024 at 03:19PM

The FTC warns of scammers posing as its employees to deceive consumers into transferring money, resulting in a median loss of $7,000. Guidelines for identifying these fraudulent activities have been issued, with consumers urged to report any scams. The FBI also provides tips to defend against such scams, as online crime losses reached a record $12.5 billion in 2023.

Meeting Takeaways:
1. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported a surge in scams where individuals impersonate FTC employees to coerce victims into transferring money, with a median loss increasing from $3,000 in 2019 to $7,000 in 2024.

2. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received over 14,000 government impersonation complaints in the last year, resulting in a 63% increase in losses, totaling over $394 million, mostly affecting the elderly.

3. The FTC has released guidelines to help identify fraudulent activities and urges consumers to report any FTC impersonation scams via ReportFraud.ftc.gov in English or ReporteFraude.ftc.gov in Spanish.

4. The FTC emphasized that it will never instruct consumers to move their money, go to a Bitcoin ATM, buy gold bars, or withdraw cash, and it will not demand money, threaten arrest or deportation, or promise a prize.

5. The FTC has finalized the Government and Business Impersonation Rule to strengthen its tools in combating scammers and returning money to affected consumers.

6. The FBI has issued tips to defend against scammers, including avoiding clicking on unsolicited pop-ups, not contacting unknown phone numbers provided in pop-ups or emails, and not downloading software at the request of unknown individuals.

7. The FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Report revealed a 22% increase in reported losses to online crime compared to 2022, totaling $12.5 billion, mainly attributed to Business Email Compromise (BEC), investment fraud, ransomware, and tech/customer support and government impersonation scams.

8. The number of cybercrime complaints filed with the FBI reached 880,000 last year, with people over 60 being the most impacted age group, indicating the vulnerability of older adults to online crime.

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