Beware of the Latest Scams

It seems that you can’t turn on the news without hearing about the new ways fraudsters are trying to obtain your personal information or take your money. And with these scammers getting smarter and more clever everyday, it can be hard to know what’s real and what is an attempt at taking advantage of you. Many scams are so commonplace – like sweetheart scams and phishing – scammers are becoming more sophisticated, which  makes it even more tricky to tell them from honest people, organizations, and businesses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is constantly learning about and sharing new scams to help protect you and your hard-earned money, and we have found a few to highlight.

 

Appointment Setting Job Scam:  The FTC has seen an increase in job scams for appointment setters. The scammers will claim you can make big money while working from home, which may sound like the perfect opportunity for many. There are legitimate jobs for appointment setters, where the employee schedules calls for the company’s sales staff and potential clients to help them close deals – but the income earned in this role is usually modest. Typically, these are roles that are paid hourly, with the possibility for bonuses based on the number of appointments set. Training for this role should be offered at no cost to the employee when legitimate. The scam jobs will promise a high income and ask you to pay upfront for training, which is always a red flag!

Whenever talking with someone about a job opportunity make sure to:

• Take your time and consult someone you trust. Scammers will try to pressure you to get involved or risk losing out.
• Do some research! Search online for the company name with words like “review,” “scam,” or “complaint.”
• Take success stories and testimonials with a grain of salt. Although many like to celebrate their successes on social media, these can also be faked by scammers to build credibility.

To read more about appointment setter scams from the FTC, click here!

 

Mystery Shopping: People commonly look for a way to bring in extra money, and one way to do that is to sign up to be a mystery shopper for their companies. Businesses hire mystery shoppers to try products or share their experiences about things like buying or returning items, or overall customer service. While many mystery shopping jobs are real, many are scams. When a scammer “hires” you for a mystery shopping job they will likely send you a check that appears real, but is fake. You will be instructed to deposit the check and use a certain portion to purchase gift cards, with the remaining money being your payment. They will ask you to provide them with the numbers on the back of the gift cards, giving them access to use the gift cards themselves, and once your financial institution realizes the check was fake you will be responsible for paying them back.

Here are a few ways to tell if you are trying to be scammed:

• You are being asked to pay upfront – Honest companies payyou, not charge you, to work for them. Even if they say the money is really for a certification, training, or a guaranteed job, don’t do it. No real job, including mystery shopping, involves paying to get the job. You’ll find out the certification is worthless, and there’s probably no job.
• You’re being asked to deposit a check and send money back – Whether the payment is in the form of a wire, gift cards, etc – a real company will never ask you to send them money back!
• The job guarantees lots of money – Scammers will always try to make promises of large money to entice more people. But like many other “side hustles,” the amount of money you make is based on the amount of work you put in.
• Claims of being a part of MSPA – To trick people into believing their scams, often the scam posts will claim they are part of the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association (MSPA). The MSPA is a trade association for the customer experience industry, but they do not hire or advertise mystery shopper roles.

To read more about mystery shopping scams from the FTC, click here!

 

Investing Help: We have all heard of the typical “sweetheart scam,” where someone pretends to be romantically involved with another person online to get money, gifts, or other undeserved things. But these scammers are evolving and finding new ways to take advantage of their victims. Instead of simply asking for money, they are offering to help their victims “invest” their money. They claim to be experts in investing or cryptocurrency and offer to help you make lots of money with their help. Some signs that they are attempting to scam you are:

• Promises of big profits – They may claim they have made big money this way – but be aware that with all investments there is no guarantee of profits or returns.
• Risk-free – Scammers may try to claim that there is no risk with the investments they get involved with. But all investments, including cryptocurrency, come with risk.
• Teach you the tricks – They will say they can teach their victims the tricks for investing, but really they are leading you into a scam opportunity.
• Send money quickly – They will want to get ahold of your money as quickly as possible so they will ask you to send it via gift cards, payment apps like Apple Pay, CashApp, PayPal of Zelle, money wiring companies like Western Union or even cryptocurrency.

To read more about these types of sweetheart scams from the FTC, click here!

 

Social Security: With the birth of caller ID, it would seem that telling real phone calls apart from a scam call would be easy – but unfortunately its not so simple these days. One of the biggest ways this is used to scam people is by spoofing a legitimate phone number for a person, a business, or even the federal government. A recent scam targeting consumers will show that the Social Security Administration is calling you, when it is in fact a scammer. When you answer, the caller introduces themselves as someone from the SSA, and that they need to speak with you urgently because your social security number and name are being used to commit crimes like money laundering or drug trafficking. The police are on their way to your house now, and in order to not go to jail you need to pay them. The caller will insist you stay on the line with them as you go to the bank and withdraw money. You may feel flustered and panicked, which is exactly what they want. You want to call someone to verify what is happening but the scammer keeps telling you there is no time. If this ever happens to you, STOP! This is a scam!

A few of the tell-tale signs that the call is fake are:

• Socials Security Administration calling you – The SSA will never reach out to you directly to report fraudulent or criminal activity using your identity.
• The payment – Even if you are suspected of a crime, a police officer will never ask you for money to avoid jail time.
• Urgency – Scammers will always try to create a sense of urgency so you feel you have no time to confirm or second guess the information they are giving you.
• Insisting you stay on the line – This is done simply to avoid you figuring out they are scamming you.

For more information on the SSA scam, click here!

Staying safe from scams requires vigilance and awareness in today’s digital age. It’s crucial to verify the authenticity of any unsolicited communication – whether it’s an email, phone call, or text message, and especially if it involves requests for personal information or money. Be wary of offers that seem too good to be true or pressure you to act quickly. Always double-check the legitimacy of websites before entering sensitive data and consider using secure payment methods for online transactions. Educate yourself and others about common scam tactics, and trust your instincts—if something feels off, it probably is. By staying informed and cautious, you can protect yourself and your finances from falling victim to scams.

If you’re worried you’ve fallen victim to a fraudster, contact us right away. Cutting Edge offers members and their families free identity theft recovery services as a membership benefit!