Consumer Alert
The Secretary of State is not emailing you
There are many scammers who pretend to be government officials – from the IRS, Social Security, and even the FTC. The latest twist is an email from – supposedly – the Secretary of State. In the email, someone pretending to be Secretary Tillerson says you’re owed a payment – which he knows about because of an investigation by the FBI and CIA. The email goes on to say that you’ll get an ATM card with $1.85 million on it – and it even gives you the PIN code. But, to get the ATM card, you have to send in $320 and a bunch of information about you.
Except you don’t have to send either the money or the information. Because it’s not the Secretary of State emailing, nobody owes you $1.85 million dollars (just guessing), and no government agency will ever tell you to pay a fee to collect funds owed to you. Here’s what you can do the next time you get an email or call from someone claiming to be from the government. Ask yourself these two questions:
- Did they say you’ve won a prize, owe money, or might go to jail?
- Did they say that you can get the prize – or get out of trouble – if you pay them money right away?
If the answer to these is “yes,” that’s going to be a scam. You don’t need to send money. You don’t need to give up your information by phone or email. You don’t need to worry. But what I hope you will do is tell people you know about the scam you spotted – and then tell the FTC.
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thanks. mi
In reply to thanks. mi by bm4563
In reply to We need to provide to by cnybiz
If you really do not have an Amazon Prime card, maybe someone used your name to get a card. If someone used your name to get a card, that is identity theft.
Go to IdentityTheft.gov and report identity theft. Report that someone used your information to get a credit card account. Create an Identity Theft Report. Send your Identity Theft Report and a letter to the credit card company and to the credit bureau. The credit bureau must remove fraudulent information from your credit report. The company can't try to collect the debt.
In reply to We need to provide to by cnybiz
what should I do now?. will I get my money back?. Would anyone find this fraud?.
In reply to what should I do now?. will I by Zulaa_2844
If you sent money for a scam, please report that to the FTC. Go to FTC.gov/complaint.
In reply to There are so many scammers by Guessed it
In reply to I got one of this past week. by Ms Annie
In reply to I get spam emails and all the by Juanita
Hello, we have reached a new level of fraud. A woman answered in a 73 old man she was a representative and after great wins when he deposits the money, he transferred to three different cities in EU cities, after a few days she answered again and persuaded her to transfer to the same man his entire savings of 180.000 € , Luckily when he wanted to do the tzun he told him and told him, he went with him to police and filed a reminder. Officials said this kind of fraud had not yet. the shop in Zell am See. A
In reply to To. Whom. It. May. Concerns. by WhatupLynn
If someone took your personal documents that could be identity theft. You can call the FTC to report identity theft: 1-877-438-4338. Call Social Security at 1-800-269-0271.