In its third of three special briefings for EMS on the latest trends in scams, FTC experts break down the ways scammers tell you to pay – from apps like Venmo, CashApp or Zelle, to gift cards, to cryptocurrency and more – and why it’s hard to get your money back. Look for clues of fraud and exit the scam promptly to protect yourself from financial losses.
A statistical report from the U.S. Commerce Commission shows that from January to June this year, the Federal Trade Commission received as many as 1.1 million commercial fraud complaints, with losses as high as $4.4 billion . Commercial fraud is sweeping across the United States at an unprecedented rate.
Sophia Siddiqui, Attorney, Division of Marketing Practices, Federal Trade Commission said the target of the fraud is approached through social platforms, providing job opportunities or business investment information, student loans etc. In the first half of this year, the Federal Trade Commission alone received complaints reporting that bank transfer fraud amounted to $901 million ranking first; wire transfer fraud amounted to $164 million, credit card fraud amounted to $123 million; gift card fraud $109 million ; cash cards $106 million ; CashApps $102 million.
Lois Greisman, Associate Director, Federal Trade Commission Division of Marketing Practices, Washington DC said one of the most common payment scams is the “overpayment scam.” This is when someone sends you a check for more than the amount you’re owed, and then asks you to send them the difference. The problem is, the original check is usually fake, and by the time you realize it, you’ve already sent the scammer your own money. Some scammers pretend to be law enforcement officers from the federal Internal Revenue Service or other departments and threaten you with tax evasion and tax repayment within a time limit; or they may deceive you by claiming that you have won a jackpot and need to pay taxes to receive the bonus.
Siddiqui said that the methods of scammers are ever changing, and the method of redressing victims’ losses is also related to the method of fund payment. Relatively speaking, paying with a credit card has the greatest hope of recovering losses. Paying with gift cards or cryptocurrencies, just like cash, makes it difficult to recover losses.
In addition to these tips, Greisman and Siddiqui emphasized the importance of staying informed. The FTC website has a wealth of information on scams and how to avoid them, and they encourage everyone to take advantage of it. Share the information with friends and family, especially those that are older, being the most vulnerable to online scams.
Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
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