Common Scams
Family Emergency Imposter Scams
This is a type of fraud where the scammer poses as a family member or friend in need of urgent assistance. They will contact you by phone, email, or text and tell you that your relative or friend is in trouble and needs money immediately.
Romance Scams
Romance scams are a type of fraud where a scammer creates a fake identity online to form a romantic relationship with a victim. Their goal is to gain the victims trust and affection, then exploit the emotional connection for financial gain. They will typically fabricate emergencies or financial issues to convince the victim to send them money. These scams are dangerous because they prey on emotions, making it harder for victims to recognize the scam
Investment Scams
Scammers offer investment opportunities that are too good to be true. They promise high returns with little risk and effort. They want you to invest money in stocks, commodities, currency, real estate, bonds, and crypto currency. The targets of these scams are typically older adults because they have savings and other assets.
Lottery or Prize Scams
Scammers will reach out to you via call, email, text, or letter saying you won a prize, lottery, or sweepstakes. Examples of these would be a laptop, iPad, car, or something luxurious. They will typically then ask you to pay money or give your account information to get the prize or pay taxes on the prize. Scammers will also say that paying increases your odds of winning the prize. They will say they are from the government or from popular organizations that you might recognize.
Money Mules
A money mule is someone who transfers or moves illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else. Criminals recruit people to help launder illegal money into the financial system. Scammers will approach you online typically and send you money to either deposit or send to others for them. They like to use consumers to move money so that law enforcement can’t easily track it. Often times scammers will offer you cash or some type of incentive to help them. There are legal consequences for acting as a money mule whether you aware of the scam or not.
Fake Check Scams
Scammers will trick people into depositing fake checks into their bank accounts. The scammer offers a large sum of money and sends a check for people to deposit into their accounts. They then ask the victim to send a portion of the money elsewhere. The check then bounces and the victim is left responsible for the full amount of the check. A tip is to never send or transfer money before a check has cleared your account and be cautious of checks from unfamiliar sources.
Fake Charity Scams
Criminals set up fake charities to take advantage of people’s generosity during crises or disasters. They are looking for money and personal information that can be used for identity theft. They use emails, texts, fake websites, or spoofed phone numbers to make it seem like a real charity and to solicit donations. They want to get money quickly so they often pressure you to donate right away. Legit Charities typically don’t push for donations immediately as they will accept donations at any time.
Toll Scams
A toll scam is a type of phishing or fraud where scammers pretend to be from a toll collection agency or department of transportation (like E-ZPass, FasTrak, TxTag, SunPass, etc.). They claim you owe money for an unpaid toll or fine. They will send a text or email saying you owe money for a missed toll or fine. There's typically a link to "pay now" to avoid additional fees. Do not click on these links that will lead to a fake website that looks legit, but will steal your information.
Package Delivery Scams
A package delivery scam is when scammers pretend to be from a shipping or courier company (like USPS, UPS, Amazon, etc.) to trick you into giving up personal info, clicking malicious links, or paying fake fees. They will text or email you a fake notification saying that your package is waiting for delivery, stolen or can not be delivered. They will add a link to the message saying click here to reschedule or pay a fee. This link will lead you to a fake website that looks legit, but will end up stealing your information.
