March 2024

You’re looking to make some extra money and you get a text or email, or see an ad on social media: get paid to wrap your car and drive around. And the offers can sound good: $600-700 a week to drive around with an ad for some well-known company (usually an energy drink). Many times, these offers are scams — here’s how to spot them.

April is Financial Literacy Month, and a great time to talk about consumer protection information that helps people avoid losing money to scammers. Federal Trade Commission data show people reported losing more than $10 billion to scams in 2023, marking the first time that fraud losses have reached that benchmark. It's now more important than ever to share information about spotting, avoiding and reporting scams. The free advice at ftc.gov/MoneyMatters will help you.

Maybe you — or even your pet — are an influencer. But did you know that scammers might target you with phony job opportunities? You might get a message on social media, supposedly from a recruiter or “brand ambassador manager” of a national company. They say they’ll send you free products and pay you big bucks to promote and tag their stuff on social media. All you need to do, they say, is give them your banking information so they can pay you. But this isn’t a job opportunity. It’s a scam, and here’s how to avoid it.

Maybe you weren’t thinking about selling your timeshare — but suddenly, someone calls and tells you they’re a real estate agent and have an interested buyer. They might have information about you and your property, so the offer seems credible. Then, the so-called timeshare expert asks you to pay upfront to finalize the deal. Stop. That could be a scam.

As a nanny or caregiver, you know that families and employers trust you to take care of their children or older adults. It’s the same trust that scammers want to build with you when they post ads for fake jobs to steal your money and personal information. So how do you spot the scam?

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that every year we report on the top scams people tell us about. And that we take a deeper dive into the data through our Data Spotlight reports. A new Data Spotlight about business and government imposters shines a light on the top imposter scams.

Finding an apartment or house to rent that’s safe, affordable, and near amenities you want can be hard for anyone. Folks in the LGBTQ+ community often use community groups on social media to find housing rentals, and people often assume that what’s posted is vetted and safe for community members. But scammers post in these groups, too. Here are ways to spot and avoid rental scams.

Did you pay Benefytt, which also did business as “MyBenefitsKeeper,” for a health plan or product that didn’t deliver the comprehensive insurance coverage the company promised? You might be getting some of your money back.

When it comes to small business loans, time is money. That was especially true early in the pandemic: when many small businesses were struggling to stay open, and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds were limited. So, when Womply advertised that small businesses, including gig workers and one-person small businesses, could get fast PPP funding if they applied through the company, millions of applications came pouring in. The problem, says the FTC, is that Womply didn’t live up to its promises. And that hurt millions of small businesses.

Delays in processing loans needed by small businesses in an emergency — like the pandemic — can leave them struggling to stay open. And deceiving consumers about these delays violates the law. The FTC says that's what happened when small businesses applied for emergency Paycheck Protection Program loans from Biz2Credit Inc.

With all the security threats out there, you might be tempted to click on a pop-up or ad for a “free” scan to keep your computer safe. Especially if you see a Windows logo. The problem? They’re impersonating well-known companies and scaring you into paying to fix computer problems that may not exist.

When you’re planning a trip — whether it’s a last-minute spring break vacation or another trip — you might be tempted to jump on an offer for a great deal. Unfortunately, scammers sometimes hide behind those offers. Their goal? To try to steal your money Here’s how it could play out.

Are you looking for ways to pay off credit card debt? Offers to help you cut down or wipe out your debt might sound like a perfect solution, but dishonest debt relief companies will take your money and do little or nothing to help. So how do you get real help and skip the scammers?

When you log into your bank or credit card account, you might get a text message or email with a verification code. You then enter it at the login screen to confirm it’s really you. That’s a form of two-factor authentication that adds a layer of security to your account — and keeps would-be scammers and hackers out.

People are losing big money to scammers running complicated scams. The scams usually involve someone supposedly spotting fraud or criminal activity on one of your accounts, offering to help “protect” your money, sometimes asking you to share verification codes, and always telling you to move money from your bank, investment, or retirement account. And every bit of it is a scam.

Is there a legit reason for someone to send you to a Bitcoin ATM? The short answer is NO. Will someone from the government send you to a Bitcoin ATM? NEVER. If you’ve followed this Anatomy of a Scam series, you know there’s more to it than that.

As we continue our deep dive into imposter scams, we’re taking a look at a new twist on tech support scams. Ever deal with a tech support scam? A warning pops up on your computer. It says your computer has a virus and gives you a number to call for help. You often end up paying hundreds of dollars to a scammer who pretends to deal with the fake virus. Now scammers are upping the stakes — instead of hundreds of dollars, people are unknowingly handing over tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to tech support scammers. Here’s how.

One way to spot a scam is to understand its mechanics. A new and complicated scam starts with a call or text message about a suspicious charge on your Amazon account. But it’s not really Amazon. It’s a scammer with an elaborate story about fraud using your identity that ends with you draining your bank or retirement accounts.

Scammers say and do things that can tell us they’re lying — and they’re not who they pretend to be. Of course, to hear or see those clues, we have to get past the panic scammers make us feel, thanks to the so-called emergencies they try to create. And since scammers are convincing, that can be hard to do. But recent scams are costing people their life savings, so here are some sure ways to spot the scammer.

The pleas pulled at heartstrings — donate now to help women struggling with breast cancer pay their rent or their utilities — and generous people responded. In truth, barely a penny of every dollar donated went to cancer patients. Today the FTC and ten state partners sued the so-called “charity” that lied to donors about helping cancer patients.

That call or text might not seem like a scam. It might look like it’s Apple or Microsoft, saying there’s a problem with your computer. (It’s not.) It might seem like it’s Amazon, saying there’s a problem with an order. (Also no.) It might even sound like your grandchild, calling with (supposedly) an emergency. (Still no.) All of these are scammers. This is National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) and we’re inviting you to join us in talking about scams just like these.

Recovering from what is now the largest wildfire in Texas history will be a long process. If you’ve been displaced by the fire, or your home or business was damaged, you’re probably trying to figure out what to do next. Here’s some advice to help you get started.

We expect banks and brokers to keep our money safe. We think they’ll stop or warn us about suspicious transfers out of our accounts. But do they? Scammers are exploiting that trust and getting people to transfer their money and drain their retirement accounts to “protect” or “safeguard” or “legalize” it. The truth? The money gets stolen, and banks and brokers won’t get it back from the scammer.