Fraud & Scams
Financial fraud, phishing, identity theft, scam alerts, data breaches, and how to protect yourself and your accounts.
Latest in Fraud & Scams
Three men were arrested after a scam ring drained more than $1 million from elderly Virginia victims.
Three men are being held without bond in a Virginia jail after investigators tied them to an organized scheme that has drained more than $1...
No $2,000 tariff “dividend” check is coming, and the IRS is warning about scams that promise one.
No federal law authorizes a $2,000 tariff “dividend” check, yet that promise has become the bait in a growing wave of fraud the IRS has...
An accused romance scammer used AI video to steal over $8 million from older victims, prosecutors say
A live video call used to be one of the strongest ways to test whether an online romantic interest was real. Federal prosecutors now allege...
Eleven defendants admitted roles in a $65 million fraud ring that targeted older Americans
The guilty pleas in a $65 million elder-fraud case expose a business operation built around ordinary infrastructure: call centers created the panic, short-term rentals received...
A Wisconsin woman lost more than $400,000 in retirement savings after impostors posing as federal agents told her to buy Bitcoin.
A Wisconsin woman lost more than $400,000 in retirement savings after impostors posing as federal agents told her to move her money into Bitcoin, according...
The FTC is mailing refund checks to 1,821 homeowners caught in a fake mortgage-relief scheme, and they must cash them within 90 days.
The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 1,821 refund checks totaling more than $2.8 million to homeowners who paid for mortgage-relief services that never delivered. The...
Chocolate coins swapped for $700,000 in gold foiled a scam on a 79-year-old woman, and the courier who came to collect was arrested.
A 79-year-old woman in Kent County, Michigan, turned the tables on scammers by handing a courier a box of chocolate coins instead of $700,000 worth...
Five people were sentenced for helping overseas scammers drain elderly victims across ten states.
Five people who worked as local couriers and handlers for an overseas fraud ring were sentenced in the Eastern District of Missouri after pleading guilty...
Banks now reimburse Zelle users for certain impostor scams, and a new clawback can pull the stolen money back.
Banks that operate the Zelle payment network are now required to reimburse customers tricked by certain impostor scams, and a new clawback mechanism lets participating...
A California retiree handed over $1.3 million in Bitcoin-ATM deposits and gold bars to a $149 million fraud ring, and one courier now faces federal charges.
A 70-year-old retiree in Carlsbad, California, lost roughly $1.39 million after scammers directed the victim to deposit approximately $55,700 into Bitcoin ATMs and wire another...
When the FTC mails real refund checks, scammers follow with fake ‘processing fee’ calls, and the agency never charges you.
Consumers who received legitimate refund checks from the Federal Trade Commission have become prime targets for follow-up phone scams demanding fees that the agency never...
Comcast is paying $117.5 million over a data breach, and Xfinity customers from October 2023 can claim a flat $50 by September 14.
Comcast has agreed to pay $117.5 million to resolve claims tied to a data breach that hit its Xfinity internet service in October 2023. Customers...
People exposed in the American Consumer Credit Counseling data breach can file a claim by September 16.
People whose personal information was exposed in the American Consumer Credit Counseling data breach have until September 16 to file a claim for compensation. A...
Three men face charges in an East Coast crime ring that has drained more than $1 million from elderly victims.
Three men now face federal charges for allegedly running a sweepstakes-style fraud ring along the East Coast that prosecutors say stole more than $1 million...
Federal agents arrested 19 people in a global ring that drained more than $40 million from over 500 older Americans.
More than 500 older Americans lost a combined sum exceeding $40 million to a network of scammers who posed as tech-support agents, according to federal...
Fake jury-duty calls threaten arrest unless you pay by gift card, but real courts summon you by mail.
Scammers posing as federal court officials are calling Americans with threats of immediate arrest for missing jury duty and demanding payment through gift cards, cryptocurrency,...
$80,000 was stolen from a Michigan senior, and a sentenced courier means she got every dollar back.
A Macomb County senior lost $80,000 after scammers directed her to withdraw cash and hand it to a courier posing as a federal agent. The...
There is no new ‘chip’ Medicare card, so any call demanding a fee to send one is a scam.
Medicare beneficiaries across the country are receiving phone calls claiming they must pay a fee for a new “chip” Medicare card or risk losing their...
So-called task scams show fake earnings for liking videos, then demand a crypto deposit to withdraw
People searching for easy side income are being drawn into a fraud scheme that mimics gig work, shows them fabricated earnings for tasks like liking...
Fake toll-payment texts are the fastest-growing government-imposter scam, part of $3.5 billion in losses
Fake toll-payment texts claiming drivers owe money to programs like E-ZPass, SunPass, FasTrak, and TxTag have become the fastest-growing category of government imposter fraud in...