FTC Consumer Response Center 1-877-382-4357
Archives
It’s never a good time to have your utilities shut off. But during the hot summer months, the threat of having no power can be especially miserable: no AC, no refrigerator, not even a fan. Scammers know this and will try to trick you into sending them money to keep your electricity on. But there are ways to spot the scammers.
That $750 you were promised for filling out a survey was never intended to be paid but is in fact a giveaway scam you just fell for. You may think there’s no real harm in filling out a bogus survey, but the real thing about these scams is that it’s stealing your PII (personally identifiable information).
Scammers have been targeting Medicare recipients with a fake offer to get “free COVID tests.” They’re calling and running websites, online and television ads to try to convince people to give their Medicare information. But if you give them your information, they’ll bill fraudulent charges to Medicare.
With the cost of groceries, housing, and many other things rising, you might be looking for ways to cut costs. You aren’t alone. Across the country, people are worried about high prices impacting their budgets. And scammers are taking notice.
Data recently released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that the number of complaints about social media shopping scams more than tripled over the last year. Consumers reported losing more than $117 million to this type of scam in just the first six months of 2020 compared to $134 million for all of 2019, according to the FTC’s latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight.
![[HEADS UP] The Online Scams Exploiting Queen Elizabeth's Death Are Here](https://blog.knowbe4.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Queen%20Elizabeth%20Scams.jpg?width=400&name=Queen%20Elizabeth%20Scams.jpg)
The Sun just reported that experts are sending a warning about online scams in relation to Queen Elizabeth's passing.
These threat actors are utilizing social engineering tactics by using phony Twitter accounts to offer tickets to next week's funeral.
Scams surrounding crisis situations or high-profile events never cease. Taking advantage of current events and crises are a lure many cyberthieves cannot wait to take advantage of for their own gain. Natural disasters, such as the earthquake in Papua New Guinea and the fundraising surrounding it opens a door for scammers to steal donations from those who give to provide relief for those in need.
Smartwatches have quickly gone from sci-fi to commonplace, and it’s easy to see why. Users can conveniently manage messages, music, fitness, and more right from their wrists as they go about the day.
![[HEADS UP] New Uber Security Breach 'Looks Bad', Caused by Social Engineering](https://blog.knowbe4.com/hubfs/CHN-LOGO-2017-1.png){kind=logo}
It was all over the news, but ZDNet's Eileen Yu was one of the first:
"Hacker is believed to have breached Uber's entire network in a social engineering attack, which one security vendor says is more extensive than the company's 2016 global data breach and access logs potentially altered."
By now we’ve seen news clips showing the chaos at airports all over the country. Over-booked flights and airline staff shortages are leading to massive flight cancellations and hours long wait times to board a plane.
![[HEADS UP] Bank of America Warns About Recent Scams That Request Zelle Payment Due to 'Suspicious Activity'](https://blog.knowbe4.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Financial%20Bank%20Scam.jpg?width=800&name=Financial%20Bank%20Scam.jpg)
Bank of America recently sent a customer service email warning users to watch out for this new phishing attack.
Threat actors are sending realistic texts requesting that you send money using Zelle® as payment due to a 'fraud alert'.
Searching for a new place to live can be stressful enough, but when rental scammers get involved the stress ratchets-up into overdrive. These scams have become so common and financially devastating that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got involved to help keep them from happening.
Email scammers sent an Uber to the home of an 80-year-old woman who responded to a well-timed email scam, in a bid to make sure she went to the bank and wired money to the fraudsters. In this case, the woman figured out she was being scammed before embarking for the bank, but her story is a chilling reminder of how far crooks will go these days to rip people off.
Having your private information or identity stolen is no picnic. It takes quite a long time to make it right, so one of the best ways to help ensure that neither happens in the first place is to protect it as much as you can.