Scams to Spot

Involve deceptive tactics where individuals or groups deceive consumers by offering goods or services that either don’t exist or are significantly different from what was advertised. These scams often target internet users often eager for bargains through various means, such as fake websites or social media ads promoting enticing deals on trendy products¹. Additionally, scammers may utilize phishing emails or texts pretending to be reputable companies, urging recipients to click on malicious links or provide personal and financial information.

• Alerts about fake orders are #1 scam: be aware of a rise in scams involving fake purchases, where scammers claim that there is a shipping issue with your order. These messages are most often sent over email, and state that a payment is required – most often by credit card – to fix the issue with your order.²
• Do you have a membership or subscription to an online service? Be aware of a rise in “Membership Renewal Scams,” where bad actors pose as legitimate companies and request you to renew by giving your credit card information.³
• Ordering flowers for a special occasion like Mother’s Day? Don’t procrastinate, or you may end up falling for a scam. BBB.org/ScamTracker has received numerous reports from shoppers who turned to online florists for last-minute orders. They paid for a beautiful arrangement but got disappointing flowers – or nothing at all.⁴
• Over 850,000 people were hit with an online shopping scam that steals credit cards. The German cybersecurity firm SRLabs recently uncovered a massive network of 75,000 fake online shops called ‘BogusBazaar’, which over the course of three years, tricked more than 850,000 people into buying $50 million worth of fake goods.⁵

Investment scams promise big returns with little to no risk, but the goal is stealing money from you. People often lose a lot of money to investment scams over other types and these scams can be hard to spot. Scammers may use crypto-asset (virtual currency) investments, like Bitcoin or Ether, because they are hard to track, with the value can go up or down quickly and there are no guaranteed returns; they may also use image, name and characteristics of famous people without their permission, to get you to ‘invest’⁶. The vast majority of frauds involving cryptocurrency or foreign currency trading, also known as forex, begin on social media or through messaging apps. If someone contacts you out of the blue, or you meet someone online who introduces you to a trading website you’ve never heard of before, chances are it’s a fraud⁷. Don’t lose your life savings to a money-making opportunity that’s too good to be true.

• Cryptocurrency scammers are faking endorsements from celebrities like Bill Gates, Cristiano Ronaldo, to drive victims to a compromised website, BitcoinTrader, which contains a fabricated investment pitch⁸
• Pig butchering scammers in Southeast Asia are increasingly using artificial intelligence technology like deepfakes, as well as AI large language models (LLMs), or chatbots, as they message victims in other languages.⁹
• New rules are being brought in in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2024, which mean banks will be obliged to quickly repay Authorized Push Payment (APP) Scam victims up to £415,000.¹⁰

So-called student debt relief companies claim that they can get your student loans forgiven and that they can help you avoid default by reviewing your loan files, negotiating with your lenders, and submitting an application on your behalf for student loan forgiveness. They may even have correct information about you or your loan balance, giving the impression that they are legitimate and pressure you to pay up-front fees, claim to be affiliated with the Department of Education or your student loan servicer, or promise immediate student loan forgiveness or debt cancellation. The law, however, prohibits these companies from acting in unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive ways.¹¹ Despite what student loan debt relief companies may tell you, you never have to pay someone else to contact your student loan servicer. If you’re struggling to repay your student loans, contact your servicer directly for help. You can change your repayment plan with your servicer for free. You can also work with your servicer to explore other payment relief options, including deferment, forbearance, and loan cancellation benefits.¹²

• A scam text impersonating Student Finance England including a link to a phishing website imitating the official government website is targeting the three million University students in the UK who are currently receiving their latest maintenance loan payment. The text tells you to follow the link to make sure ‘your maintenance arrives on time’ and the website asks for your personal data.¹³
• FTC Sends More Than $4.1 Million in Refunds to People Who Lost Money to Student Loan Debt Relief Scheme¹⁴

Scammers advertise jobs the same way honest employers do — online (in ads, on job sites, and social media), in newspapers, and sometimes on TV and radio. They promise you a job, but what they want is your money and your personal information.¹⁵ Scammers may impersonate legit employers and stage bogus interviews to concentrate on stealing your identity or getting money from you by using fake checks to scam “employees” to pay for equipment and services needed for employment from victims, or by crediting funds in your bank account only to have them withdrawn soon after.¹⁶

• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) warns students and job seekers not to become “Money Mules.” Money mule scams involve individuals sending and receiving money into their bank accounts, digital wallets, or spot-market crypto trading accounts as part of their job duties or at the direction of others.¹⁷
• Job scam swindled $2400 from North Carolina A&T student¹⁸

Criminals set up fake websites or social media profiles to sell tickets for major events (such as sports, music, or theater) that don’t exist. Websites may look like a genuine organizations,  but subtle changes in the URL can indicate that it’s fraudulent. Criminals might use images of genuine tickets to commit fraud. They create fake posts or pages on social media to scam those looking for tickets. They may get in touch via text, email, or direct message to advertise fake tickets. In some cases, you may receive tickets only to be told they are fake when you arrive at the venue.¹⁹

• For The Eras Tour March 2024 concert alone, at least 54 victims were duped by scammers pretending to sell tickets after they went on sale. In less than a week in July 2023, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) reported losses from scams amounting to S$45,000 (P1.8 million).²⁰
• Fake profiles on a Cambridge, United Kingdom, Facebook group Ticketbridge prey on students in ticket sale scams. Several students have been targeted in a recent increase in Ticketbridge scams, with fake profiles purporting to be selling tickets to May Week events and other popular club nights. Scammers join the private Facebook group using fake profiles to comment under students’ posts asking buyers to privately message them, claiming they have tickets to sell.²¹
• Greater Toronto Area fake ticket scam costs sports and music lovers $100k²²

Romance scam is when a criminal uses a fake profile to form a relationship with you. They gain your trust by appealing to your compassionate side, finding out personal information about you and creating fake stories so it seems like you have a lot in common. Once they have gained your trust, they start inventing reasons for needing money. These can be anything from an emergency situation, funds for travel to come and see you, asking you to take out a loan for them in your name, and many more. There will often be a promise of paying you back²³. Scammers may even dedicate months and months to build the relationship. Many romance scams begin on online dating sites, but a significant number of reported frauds start with a direct message received on social media.²⁴

• ‘Yahoo Boys’ are using real-time face-swapping to carry out elaborate romance scams, by using face-swapping software, voice-altering technology, or different devices.²⁵
• A South Korean woman has been sentenced by a court to three years in prison for swindling 670 million won ($490,000) from three male victims by pretending to be in a romantic relationship with them.²⁶
• The University of Michigan and others warn of highly targeted job scams, Scammers are putting out realistic-looking pitches to individuals or groups, such as the 2024 graduating class of a particular college or university²⁷
• A South Korean woman lost $50,770 in a romance scam after she fell in love with a deepfake version of Elon Musk, according to an April 19 broadcast on KBS.²⁸

Occur when a cybercriminal uses social engineering to trick you into giving them access to your bank account. Scammers send emails or text messages that appear to be from your bank, a financial institution or an online payment service. They usually claim that there is a problem with your account and request that you verify your details on a fake but convincing copy of the bank’s website. A scammer may also attempt to guess or steal the password to your bank account using a technology that guesses billions of passwords every second. If they’re successful, they can transfer your money to their own account, make purchases, and open credit cards in your name. Scammers can also send you attachments or links that can download malware to your divide and grant them access to your data if clicked on, which they can use to access your bank accounts. Finally, if you log in to your online bank account while on public Wi-Fi, like at an airport, hotel, or coffee shop, you may expose yourself to scammers on the open network.²⁹