Fraud & Scams
Financial fraud, phishing, identity theft, scam alerts, data breaches, and how to protect yourself and your accounts.
Latest in Fraud & Scams
The FBI says older Americans lost $7.7 billion to scams last year, much of it to the “phantom hacker” ploy
Americans aged 60 and older lost $7.7 billion to fraud in 2023, according to the FBI, with a fast-growing share of that total tied to...
Western Montana Clinic patients can claim up to $5,000 over a data breach by September 15
Nearly 8,829 patients tied to Western Montana Clinic face a tight window to file claims worth up to $5,000 each after a data breach that...
Continental Café data-breach victims can claim $50, or up to $700 with proof, by July 28
People whose personal data was exposed in the Continental Cafe Holdings, LLC breach now face a tight window to file claims. The company’s breach notification,...
An 82-year-old St. Louis woman handed a courier $250,000 in gold bars after callers posed as tech support and her bank
An 82-year-old woman in St. Louis purchased approximately $250,000 in gold bars and handed them to a courier after callers impersonated tech support and her...
Oak View Group data-breach victims can claim $50, or $150 in California, by August 15
People whose personal information was exposed in the Oak View Group data breach have until August 15 to file a claim for $50, or $150...
A Virginia couple handed a courier their savings in a phone-scam ring tied to over $1 million in thefts
A Virginia couple lost their life savings after handing cash to a courier dispatched by phone scammers posing as government officials. Three people were arrested...
Circle K data-breach victims can claim $50, or up to $2,000 with proof, by September 3
People affected by a data security incident at Gas Express LLC, a company tied to Circle K convenience store operations, face a September 3 deadline...
A Tennessee retiree lost $268,000 in gold bars to callers who posed as her bank and a federal agent
A retiree in Putnam County, Tennessee, handed over $268,229 in gold bars and coins to strangers who called her pretending to be her bank and...
Comcast will pay Xfinity customers $50 with no proof over a 2023 data breach, if they file by August 14
Xfinity customers affected by a late-2023 data breach tied to a known software flaw can collect $50 from Comcast without submitting proof of harm, as...
Thirteen people are charged in a scheme that drained older Americans with fake tech-support and government calls
Federal prosecutors have charged 13 people for running a transnational fraud operation that used fake tech-support and government phone calls to steal from more than...
Disney+ subscribers may get a settlement check over the service’s pricing and auto-renewal practices
Disney+ subscribers could be in line for a payout tied to how the streaming giant handles consumer data and account practices. California Attorney General Rob...
A caller posing as bank rep ‘Miss Barbara’ drained $162,000 from a 65-year-old California caretaker
A 65-year-old California caretaker lost $162,000 after a caller who identified herself as “Miss Barbara,” a supposed bank representative, convinced the victim to hand over...
Fake toll-payment texts are one of the FTC’s fastest-growing scams, and one tap can cost you
A single text message claiming a driver owes a few dollars in unpaid tolls has become one of the fastest-growing fraud tactics in the United...
Thieves copy gift-card codes on store racks; buy from behind the counter and check the seal
Shoppers who pick a gift card off a retail display rack risk handing their money to thieves who already copied the card’s numbers and PIN...
Albany Park will pay nearly $15 million over fake ‘sale’ prices; buyers can claim by August 18
Buyers who purchased homes from Albany Park and were shown inflated “original” prices to make discounts look real now have until August 18 to file...
An Arizona mother wired $50,000 after scammers used an AI clone of her daughter’s voice
Jennifer DeStefano, an Arizona mother, told a Senate subcommittee that scammers used artificial intelligence to clone her teenage daughter’s voice during a fake kidnapping call....
Cash App is mailing settlement checks to users automatically after a $175 million CFPB order
Block, Inc., the parent company of Cash App, is sending settlement checks directly to affected users after federal regulators ordered the company to pay $175...
Sprouts shoppers can claim data-breach cash by August 5
If you paid with a credit or debit card at Sprouts Farmers Market during the past several years, you may be entitled to a cash...
Georgia banks can now freeze suspicious transfers to protect older customers from scammers
Georgia’s older and disabled bank customers gained a new layer of protection after Governor Brian P. Kemp signed HB 945 into law. The measure, enrolled...
A courier who posed as an FBI agent to collect cash from elderly Florida scam victims got 27 months
A federal court in Gainesville, Florida, sentenced Xin Liu, a 40-year-old Chinese national living in Apopka, to 27 months in federal prison for her role...