Scammers are all about spinning lies, but they still operate in the real world. Many scammers pretend to be well-known businesses to gain trust and make their stories seem more credible.[1],[2]And scammers use real methods to contact people and get paid. Reports to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network point to some of their favorites.
Let’s start with the most imitated companies. According to 2023 reports, Best Buy’s Geek Squad, Amazon and PayPal top the list. But reported losses tell a different story: losses were highest when scammers impersonated Microsoft and Publishers Clearing House.[3] The scammers impersonating these businesses operate in many different ways. For example, bogus Geek Squad emails tell you that a computer service you never signed up for is about to renew – by a few hundred dollars. Microsoft impersonation scams start with a fake security pop-up alert on your computer with a number to call for “help”.[4] And calls from the fake Publishers Clearing House say you’ll have to pay fees to collect your (fake) sweepstakes winnings.
Reports on all types of fraud also tell us how scammers contacted their targets. Last year, people told us that scammers mostly reach out via email and phone calls. But people also told us that they lost the most money to scams that started on social media.[5]People mentioned Facebook and Instagram the most in these reports,[6] and mostly reported online shopping scams that started with social media ads. However, the biggest reported losses to scams that started on social media platforms were to investment scams.
How scammers get their money also varies according to the type of scam. For example, people who report investment scams usually say they “invested” with cryptocurrency or via wire transfer.[7] Reported payments to scammers through these two methods contributed to the highest losses in 2023, both per person and in total.[8] And many people have reported using payment programs and services, mostly in connection with online shopping scams.[9] Most people who reported using a payment app or service named the company they used, with PayPal, Cash App, Zelle, Venmo, and Apple Pay being the most reported in 2023.
Gift cards were the most reported payment method for various types of scams in 2023, including romance scams, tech support scams, government impersonation scams, and scams that impersonate people you know, like your boss or a grandchild. Reports show that scammers specify which gift card brand to buy, which most people mentioned in their reports. In 2023, Apple cards were by far the most reported gift cards, followed by Target, eBay, Walmart and Amazon gift cards.[10]
So how can you spot and avoid these and other scams?
Stop and look at it. Before you do anything else, talk to someone you trust. Anyone pushing you to send money, buy gift cards, or invest in cryptocurrencies is almost certainly a scammer. Never click on links or respond to unexpected messages, and never trust caller ID. If you think a story may be legitimate, contact the company or agency using a phone number or website you know to be real. Don’t pay someone who requires you to pay with a gift card, cryptocurrency, money transfer, or payment app. Only scammers say there is only one way to pay.
And what can businesses do? At the very least, make it easier for customers to reach you to find out which communications are legitimate. Of course, shifting responsibility onto your customers isn’t the answer, so look to your workforce’s ingenuity to implement solutions that protect your loyal customers and your good name.
Visit ftc.gov/scams to spot and avoid scams – and learn how to get a refund if you’ve paid a scammer. Visit business.ftc.gov for resources and advice for businesses. Report fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
[1] In 2023, approximately 332,000 people reported a business impersonation scam, far more than any other type of fraud, and reported losses totaled more than $660 million. These figures, and figures throughout this Spotlight, exclude reports provided by data contributors. Because the vast majority of fraud is not reported to the government, these figures reflect only a small fraction of the public harm. See Anderson, KB Who do victims of mass market consumer fraud complain to? at 1 (May 2021), available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3852323 (study showed that only 4.8% of people who experienced mass market consumer fraud at a Better Business Bureau or a government entity).
[2] Government agencies, including the FTC, are also often impersonated. See FTC’s interactive Tableau Public infographic for more information on reporting on government impersonation, including the most reported agencies.
[3] Microsoft impersonation reports are generally classified as tech support scams and Publishers Clearing House impersonation reports are generally classified as prizes, sweepstakes, and sweepstakes. These two Sentinel fraud types are included in this analysis in addition to the business fraud fraud type, as they typically include reports on counterfeit companies.
[5] Reported losses to fraud initiated on social media by year are as follows: $237M (2020), $729M (2021), $1.1M (2022), $1.4M (2023). More money was reported lost to fraud initiated on social media than any other contact method in 2021, 2022 and 2023. For more information on contact method and payment method reporting data, see FTC’s interactive Tableau Public dashboard.
[6] In 2023, 51% of fraud reports that started on social media identified Facebook as the social media platform, and 22% identified Instagram. This excludes reports that did not identify a social media platform.
[7] Of the $1.8 billion lost to investment-related fraud in 2023, $707 million was lost to cryptocurrencies and $689 million was lost to wire transfers.
[8] In 2023, compared to all other payment methods, total reported losses were highest on wire transfers ($1.7 billion) followed by cryptocurrency ($1.2 billion), and median individual reported losses were highest on cryptocurrency ($5,000) followed by bank transfers ($4,581).
[9]Credit cards, debit cards and payment apps and services were the top three most reported payment methods, although people tended to report losing less money to the scammer. In 2023, the median individual reporting losses for these payment methods were as follows: payment app or service ($380), credit card ($136), and debit card ($110).
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