The latest scams on the rise

Empower yourself by learning about the latest scams going around, how to spot them, and what you can do to protect yourself, your personal information and your money.

Cryptocurrency investment scams

Everyone wants in on the newest, seemingly most lucrative investment offer – and right now, fraudsters are using market interest in cryptocurrency to lure investors into scams. They use high-pressure sales tactics and promises of high returns to trick victims out of their savings.

How does it work? Victims are directed to a specific trading platform to convert their funds into crypto assets, and then encouraged to transfer these assets to a fake investment website to fund an “account.” In some cases, the victim may be instructed to download software to supposedly facilitate asset conversion and transfer, but instead provides fraudsters with remote access to their computer.

Using false statements and the illusion of rapid gains, even allowing partial withdrawal of funds to build trust, fraudsters will strongly encourage investors to make additional deposits. Ultimately, requests to withdraw their assets will fail, fraudsters will stop replying to communications and the victim will lose their funds.

Red flags to look out for:

• If you are unable to validate the investment firm’s reputation or the representative’s professional background with your own independent research.

• If the investment representative encourages you to download specific software to supposedly assist with transferring funds or purchasing crypto assets.

• If a company offers to recover funds lost to cryptocurrency fraud; this is often a secondary scam.

Employment scams

During these difficult and uncertain times, unemployment has skyrocketed. Employment scams involve jobs offering easy money, high wages, flexible working hours or exciting future opportunities. Some of the most common scams include car wrapping, mystery shopping and depositing counterfeit checks.

How do they work? A fraudster may employ you to help with banking transactions. They may send you a check and ask you to deposit it into your bank account. Then, they will ask you to transfer the money to another account in exchange for a percentage of the original deposit value. When the original check is discovered to be fraudulent, you may find yourself on the hook for its entire value, plus the amount you unknowingly transferred to the fraudster.

Watch for these red flags:

• If the job involves depositing checks or transferring funds.

• If the job is being offered over email or text, with little or no recruiting process.

• If the posting involves words like "guaranteed" or phrases like "easy money."

Overpayment scams

If you’re considering selling your old devices or last season’s designer clothes online, watch out for "accidental" overpayments that exceed the agreed upon price. These scams involve tricking you into refunding money to a fraudster who has overpaid you with a bad check, stolen card and/or email money transfer (EMT) such as Zelle, or wire payment.

How do they work? A fraudster agrees to buy an unlocked mobile phone from you and “accidentally” sends you a check for more than the agreed-on price. The fraudster then contacts you to request a reimbursement for the excess amount. However, what you don’t know is that the fraudster is using a fraudulent check to buy the phone. You deposit the check using your mobile banking app and see the money appear in your account. Then, you send the excess money back to the buyer by e-Transfer. When the check bounces a few days later, the money from the sale of the phone and the reimbursement will be gone.

Watch for these red flags:

• If someone pays you more than the price that you agreed on.

• If they immediately request reimbursement for part of the payment.

• If the transaction involves unusual shipping, processing, or customs fees.

Taking proactive steps can help you avoid scams while protecting yourself and your finances.

Business email compromise scams

Business email compromise scams involve a fraudster getting a hold of your funds or merchandise by sending an email that appears to come from a familiar source, making it seem like a legitimate request.

How does BEC work? A fraudster may send you an email that appears to come from your boss. The fraudster may have hacked into your boss’ email, or they may be spoofing the account by using an address that differs by one or two characters. The request may involve information the fraudster has obtained through in-depth research, social engineering, or by installing malware. Either way, they will request you send money or merchandise to an account or location you’re not familiar with, usually with a sense of urgency. By the time you realize the mistake, the funds or merchandise may be long gone.

Watch for these red flags:

• If the request involves excessive urgency, persuasion, pressure or manipulation.

• If the request involves an address or a bank account you’ve never used before.

• If the address or bank account details don’t match your existing records.

Car Rental Scams

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020 many travel-related businesses, including car rental companies, faced a sudden drop in bookings. As the demand for rental vehicles began to recover in 2021, scammers found new ways to take advantage of unsuspecting customers.

Reports of car rental scams increased in the last few months as more people started to feel comfortable with the idea of travelling. The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning about schemes that use fake car companies, websites and customer service departments to lure people into making phony reservations.

How does it work? In a car rental scam, fraudsters create legitimate-looking websites for fake companies that advertise low prices. The website will provide a customer service number to call to verify the fee and make a reservation. However, it’s the way you pay that’s the catch.

The fake rental company will ask that you reserve your vehicle by prepaying with a gift card or prepaid debit card, often claiming there is a special discount or promotion by doing so. Once you’ve provided the card number and PIN, the fraudster can quickly convert the card to cash, leaving you without a car or your money. Check out the tips below to learn how to avoid such scams.

Watch for these red flags:

• Companies that ask you to prepay with a gift card or prepaid debit card.

• Deals or promotions that are too good to be true. If you’re suspicious about a deal or promotion, verify with the rental car company by visiting the official website and calling the number on the site.