Consumer Alert
Spot impersonator scams and share what you know
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During Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s take a moment to look at impersonator scams, which are the issue reported most to the FTC by people living in majority Latino communities. These scams happen when someone pretends to be someone they’re not — say, from a government agency or a well-known business — and tries to get you to pay or give them sensitive information. And if you don’t, they say something bad will happen. But it’s a scam.
To avoid impersonator scams:
- Don’t wire money, send cash, or use gift cards or cryptocurrency to pay someone who says they’re with the government. Know that the government will never contact you out of the blue, demanding money or information. Hang up. It’s a scam.
- Never pay anyone who demands payment by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency. Only scammers ask you to pay these ways because it’s hard to track that money, and almost impossible to get it back. Hang up if it’s a call. If it’s an email, text, or message on social media, don’t click any links.
- Don’t trust your caller ID. It might show the government agency’s real phone number or even say “Social Security Administration,” for example. But caller ID can be faked.
If you come across something you think is a scam, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or, in Spanish, at ReporteFraude.ftc.gov. And watch Why Report Fraud to learn how your report can help stop scammers.
Thanks for this valuable information. Seniors like me are especially tricked. Just keep up your due diligence and don't get scammed. Old folks money is hard to keep with the current state of the economy.
Thank you for keeping the public informed about these scammers. And thank you for taking the necessary measures to help protect us. What’s happening currently is: they’ve been pretending to help people with the camp lejeune lawsuit, pretending to local handyman people to fix your gutters, and even pretending it’s a family member sending you a link to “something thrifty or a grant”. I’ve been reporting all of them every day. It’s unbelievable what they use to scam us. But together we shall continue fighting these losers. Thank you!
Please -- I have missed the new scam info about savings bonds, Please inform us .
I recently had an email from UPS telling me my order was "on hold" due to the wrong address. All I needed to do was submit my "correct" address. I knew I did not have an order to be delivered by UPS and the link to add my address looked questionable. No, I did not respond.
Very useful information, but what about text messages that are scams??
We need to know how to delete without opening the text.
I received a text which read -Stop texting my son he's ten. My immediate response was to rely, I am not the party you seek, then cam e to my senses. All of the other recipients area codes were the same except mine. I deleted the text. The next day I received another text stating, I am not the party you are looking for, same area code anomaly. I deleted that text as well.
If these twisted individuals spent more time helping as they attempt to hurt, the world would be saved. Well, slightly less evil.
It's useless to report anything to you because you are not doing anything about it as for me you are all the same as they are. I tried and well do your job than and let me know what happened
In reply to It's useless to report… by Bojan
I agree and I did report a scam to FTC. Someone else got burnt.
I wish someone would do something about the hundreds of Ellen DeGeneres impersonators promising cash & prizes on Facebook. I report them constantly & they are rarely removed.
Thank you for FTC sharing the verry useful information
Appreciate your updates. Thank you for keeping us informed and cautious!
I continue to get emails telling that my Geek Squad subscription is going to expire if I don't immediately make a payment. It's not just Geek Squad, there are several others, PayPal, which does not come from Paypal. I've reported several of these to your agency but they just keep coming. I delete all of these but it's really saying.
This scam situation is quite obvious in that the (scam individuals) are limited in numbers. Please focus your efforts and resources ON PROSECUTING these few before their numbers continue to grow.
Respectfully consumer 101