Scammers are working hard to create new and elaborate ways to steal your money and personal or financial information. Scams impact people of all ages and backgrounds, so it’s important to trust your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, verify it before falling for it.
Unfortunately, today’s consumers feel they are more of a target than ever before. Thirty-nine percent of people surveyed in an Experian report said they felt they were more of a target online than a year ago. Stolen credit card information, identity theft, phishing emails and phone scams are some of the other issues consumers are most concerned about.
A common scam that many know about has a new twist. Catfishing affects people of all ages. The scammer builds a relationship with the person, gains their trust and convinces them to send thousands of dollars. This well-known trap is evolving with the rise and ease of AI, in which AI-generated videos and phone calls impersonate someone online or by phone for added believability.
The impersonator using AI may even claim to be a celebrity, like Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves or Johnny Depp. A French woman was recently in the news after she lost $850,000 to a fraudster claiming they were Pitt. The fake actor claimed he needed $1 million for kidney treatment but couldn’t access any money because of his ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie.
The scammer used AI to create fake images in the hospital and to impersonate Pitt, all while using emotions and preying on the woman’s empathy to gain her trust.
While it may seem unlikely at the outset, both women and men have been falling for these romance scams for years as online dating has become the norm. Senior groups are often preyed upon because many feel isolated and lonely, but people of all ages are targeted.
Once scammers forge an emotional connection with the person, they typically devise a story and an emergency where they need help paying for a health issue for themselves or their child or want money to travel to visit the person. They often talk to the person for months and sometimes even years, creating a romantic relationship with the victim.
A scammer will request money in a few different ways, including a wire transfer, cryptocurrency or gift cards. The con artist typically comes up with a wide variety of excuses to never meet in person or on video chat.
Like many other credit unions, our team is trained to spot tell-tale signs of suspicious activity when people come in to withdraw large sums of money.
Here are the three red flags of a scam every consumer should look out for:
1. You’re contacted and urged to act now. Be wary of unsolicited emails, phone calls or messages, especially if they claim you’ve won a prize, inherited money or are eligible for a deal you didn’t sign up for. Scammers often initiate contact out of the blue and lead with a sense of urgency. They want you to think you need to act now.
2. Your personal information is requested. Legitimate organizations don’t request sensitive personal information through unsolicited emails or messages. Don’t share your Social Security number, bank account details, or passwords.
3. You must pay an upfront fee. Scammers often ask victims to pay them money or send gift cards for a promised benefit. However, after the payment is made, the promised benefit never materializes, and the person disappears.
Some additional clues to look out for include bad spelling and grammar since the fraudster is often from another country. Romance scammers are often traced back to countries like Nigeria, Ghana, the Philippines, Russia or Brazil.
If someone sends a photo online, you can put the image into Google and do a reverse image search to see if the photo is legit. The reverse lookup could show different versions of the photo with many names or link back to a social media site with a different name. If the person is who they say they are, they should have an online presence with their photo linking back to their social media site, like LinkedIn or Facebook.
Remember, if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Consumers can stay one step ahead by using resources such as ScamSpotter.org, an educational website run by Cybercrime Support Network and Google. Check out Copper State Credit Union’s Fraud Help Center at copperstatecu.org/fraud to learn more about different scams, how to report them and what to watch out for.
Editor’s note: Christina Kredit is vice president of marketing for Copper State Credit Union, which has branches in Anthem, Glendale, Goodyear, Payson, Phoenix and Surprise. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
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