FTC warns of government impersonation scams
FTC: Government imposter scams using texts and emails have increased, while phone scams have gone down
(InvestigateTV) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that people lost $2.7 billion in imposter scams last year, which includes scams where fraudsters posed as the FTC itself.
FTC Division of Marketing Practices Associate Director Lois Greisman said it’s very frustrating to know her agency name is being used by criminals.
Greisman said their new survey showed that the scams are growing, getting more sophisticated, and now involve a request for cash.
“Cash! Yes! It’s surprising but there has been a 90% increase in cash payments paid out to government impersonation scammers from 2022 to 2023″ she emphasized. “It’s surprising, but it’s happening, and people need to know that anyone asking you to pay by cash: absolute red flag! Discontinue contact!”
Greisman said the median loss for people tricked into sending cash is a whopping $14,740. She has seen losses of as much as $20,000 to $30,000 for a single target.
She said scammers love cash because it is hard to track.
“Scammers want anonymity, and these payment methods leave very little paper trail – very hard for consumers to get their money back,” she noted. “And it makes it that more challenging for law enforcement to follow the money.”
Numerous federal agencies including the FTC, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) are spreading the word to raise awareness and put a stop to this growing scheme.
These agencies are reminding people that they will never text or message people on social media to ask for money or personal information and they will never demand payment.
Greisman said anyone targeted by a government impersonation scam should report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
“It is critical to report scams, whether you lost money or not,” she urged. “This information goes into a big database that law enforcement nationwide, not just the FTC but the FBI- Postal Inspection Service, state’s attorneys general, they all have access to that database. They can identify trends. They can identify targets. Reporting is critical.”
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