Fraud & Scams
Financial fraud, phishing, identity theft, scam alerts, data breaches, and how to protect yourself and your accounts.
Latest in Fraud & Scams
A romance scam can drain a lifetime of savings, and the money is almost never recovered
Among the frauds the Federal Trade Commission tracks, romance scams sit near the top for total dollars lost, and they carry a second cruelty that...
A “pig butchering” crypto-investment scam has drained retirees of six-figure savings, the FBI warns
Federal investigators have a blunt name for one of the costliest frauds now aimed at older Americans: “pig butchering,” a scheme in which a stranger...
Scammers now pose as your own bank’s fraud department to talk you into moving money
The Federal Trade Commission warns that a fast-growing con now opens with a phone call or a text from what looks like a bank’s own...
Freezing your credit is free and does not lower your credit score
The single most effective defense against having a loan or credit card opened in someone else’s name is also one of the least used, and...
A credit “lock” lets you block and unblock new-account access from your phone in seconds
Identity thieves make their money by opening accounts in someone else’s name, and the most direct way to stop them is to cut off access...
Older Americans reported losing billions to fraud last year, with investment scams draining the most
Older Americans reported losing about $2.4 billion to fraud in the most recent year the government tallied, a figure that has quadrupled since 2020, and...
Comcast is paying Xfinity customers $50 with no proof over a data breach, with a September 14 deadline
Current and former Xfinity customers have until September 14 to claim a flat $50 payment, with no documentation required, from Comcast’s $117.5 million settlement over...
Banks rarely refund a Zelle payment you were tricked into sending yourself
When a scammer tricks someone into sending money through Zelle, the bank usually keeps the customer on the hook, because federal law draws a hard...
Anyone demanding payment in gift cards is a scammer, and that money is almost never recovered
Once the numbers on the back of a gift card are read aloud to a stranger, the money is almost always gone for good —...
Tift Regional Health System data-breach victims can claim about $75 with no proof by October 15
People whose information was exposed in the 2022 data breach at Tift Regional Health System can claim an estimated $75 in cash without submitting any...
Doxim data-breach victims can claim $100 with no proof before October 13
A $5.5 million settlement over a data breach at Doxim, a technology vendor that prepares account statements and tax forms for credit unions, lets eligible...
Opting out of pre-approved credit offers is a free way to cut fraud risk
The stack of “you’re pre-approved” envelopes that arrives each week is easy to dismiss as harmless clutter. It is also a quiet security hole. Each...
Banks must refund money for unauthorized electronic transfers you report in time
When a stranger drains money through a debit card, a stolen card number, or a hacked online-banking login, the loss is not necessarily the account...
Scammers value a Medicare number because they can bill fake claims against it
A Medicare number is worth more to a thief than a credit-card number, because it opens a channel to bill the federal government for care...
A credit freeze is free and blocks new accounts opened in your name
Identity thieves do not need to drain an existing account to cause real damage. The more common play is to open something new — a...
Naming a trusted contact on a brokerage account lets a firm step in if it spots a scam
A single line on a brokerage form, the name of a trusted contact, can be the difference between a scammer draining an account and a...
Banks can now place a short hold on a suspicious withdrawal to stop elder financial abuse
For years, a bank teller who suspected an older customer was being scammed faced an uncomfortable choice: hand over the money as instructed, or risk...
Scammers are targeting people who already lost money, demanding an upfront fee to “recover” it, the FTC warns
Federal regulators are warning that con artists have a favorite new list of targets: people who have already been cheated once. A recent consumer alert...
A courier scam talks seniors into handing cash or gold bars to a fake investigator
The knock at the door is the last step in a scam that can cost a retiree a lifetime of savings. A supposed federal agent,...
Thieves are “washing” checks stolen from mailboxes, so pay bills online or at the counter
A stolen check rarely stays the amount it was written for. Mail thieves lift envelopes from home mailboxes and the blue collection boxes on the...