There are warning articles about scams on the Web, on social media, and in old-fashioned print such as magazines and newspapers. Medicare and other federal agencies have fraud units – the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Social Security Administration, to name a few. AARP, State Attorney General offices, Departments of Health & Human Resources have fraud units. There is a lot of information out there on how we can protect ourselves.
But do we listen? Obviously not.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) logged five million complaints on March 12, 2020 – nearly 7 years after its opening. The 6 millionth complaint was logged on May 15, 2021. It took 7 years to log 5 million complaints. It took 14 months to add one million more.
Complaints increased nearly 70% between 2019 and 2020, with the top scams being phishing scams and non-payment / non-delivery scams. The most money was lost on romance / confidence scams and business email scams.
Cryptocurrency is gaining in popularity which means prices and value are going up. Which means scammers are licking their chops. There is a lot of money to be made! CBS News reports that Americans have lost in excess of $80 million in cryptocurrency investment scams since October 2020, a 1000% increase (that is not a misprint) from the fall of 2019. This includes Bitcoin, dogecoin, and ethereum. People between the ages of 20 and 39 were hardest hit. Just so you know, commercial businesses such as Starbucks and Whole Foods accept Bitcoin.
{Refresher from Scams 101 Terminology article: Cryptocurrency is digital currency or virtual money. It can be used like ordinary money but has no physical form (bills or coins), existing only in electronic form. Transactions aren’t controlled and aren’t regulated by financial authorities.}
Investors lost $2 million in 6 months to scammers who impersonated Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Sir Richard Branson’s name has been used in cryptocurrency scams. No one is safe from scammers. Scammers use celebrity names, they deal in cryptocurrency, and they will use anyone in any way that will benefit them.
There is so much information out there. There are tips on what to avoid, tips on the language that scammers will use, hints on the type of payments that scammers want. We know scammers will work on our emotions and our fears.
So – STOP IT!! Stop falling prey to the tricks that scammers use. Stop clicking that link. Stop calling that number. Stop letting them bully you into accepting what you know is wrong. Stop and think about what these people are trying to do to you. Just STOP IT!
Don’t be the next scam victim.
Be cautious! Stay safe.
