May 2024

A text message from an unknown number that simply says: hi, how are you? seems harmless. Your first instinct might be to respond to see if it’s someone you know. Or maybe tell them they made a mistake. But it’s best to ignore these type of text messages. Scammers are using this tactic as a conversation starter, so don’t text back. If you do, here’s what happens next.

With SNAP benefits, you use an EBT card to buy food at the store. But we’re hearing about scammers using illegal skimmers to steal card information, then grabbing your benefits for themselves. Here’s how to spot and avoid these scams.

Weather forecasters are predicting an active hurricane season, but if you live in large parts of the country — including those hit by tornadoes over Memorial Day Weekend — you’ve probably noticed more active storms of all types. To get started preparing for hurricane season or any storm, while avoiding scams, check ftc.gov/WeatherEmergencies for new information to help you spot, avoid, and report scams as you prepare for, deal with, and recover from extreme weather and natural disasters.

Say you’re scrolling through your social media feed and you see a post saying, “I’m the winner of $600 million from the Powerball lottery. I’m giving away $50,000 to the first one thousand people to message me.” Would you answer? If you do, you could become the target of a scam.

Social media can connect us to friends and family across the country — but it can also connect us to scammers. Impersonators on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are pretending to sell exotic animals to try and get people’s money. Here’s how to spot and avoid these scammers.

Maybe you want to try out a product for a little while before you make a long-term decision. So, you sign up for a monthly subscription plan. Everything is fine until you want to cancel and it turns out to be a yearly subscription with monthly payments. Surprise! That’s what the FTC says happened to people who signed up for monthly subscriptions with Adobe.

Social media feeds are flooded with ads offering steep discounts on brand-name products, including luxury items. But are these offers real or a scam? When a low-priced “deal” pops into your socials, take a closer look before you buy. Here’s why.

The phone rings. Your caller ID says it’s the Social Security Administration. You hesitate. You’re not expecting a call from them, and you’ve heard about impersonation scams. But something inside you makes you pick up. And everything you’re about to hear is designed to scare you into doing whatever the caller says.

When you go through a toll, you know you’ll need to pay a fee to use that road or bridge. But scammers are targeting drivers with text messages pretending to be from the tolling agency collecting “overdue toll charges.” Here’s what to know about this text scam.

At some point, most of us will rely on financing to buy the things we need or want. But what happens when financing terms aren’t clear? Or you’re told to expect a monthly payment amount, but end up paying more? That’s not only illegal, but it costs you money and can hurt your credit.