Fraud & Scams
Financial fraud, phishing, identity theft, scam alerts, data breaches, and how to protect yourself and your accounts.
Latest in Fraud & Scams
Social Security “verification” texts warning your benefits will stop are 2026’s fastest-growing scam
A text message claiming a retiree must “verify” their information or watch their Social Security benefits stop has become one of 2026’s most aggressive impersonation...
A South Dakota retiree wired more than $200,000 to scammers posing as his bank and the FDIC
An elderly Sioux Falls resident lost more than $200,000 over roughly a month this summer after scammers posing as computer-support staff, the victim’s bank, and...
The FBI warns a three-phase “Phantom Hacker” scam is draining seniors’ entire retirement savings
The FBI is warning that a scam it calls the “Phantom Hacker” is wiping out older Americans’ entire retirement and savings accounts by layering three...
A romance-scam ringleader got seven years for helping steal more than $100 million from older Americans looking for love
A Ghanaian man who spent years posing as online suitors to drain money from lonely Americans was sentenced on July 28, 2026, to 85 months...
A KYB Americas data-breach settlement pays up to $5,000 with documentation, or a flat $75 without, for claims by August 26.
A class-action settlement with automotive-parts manufacturer KYB Americas is paying affected people up to $5,000 with documentation, or an estimated $75 flat payment with none,...
A Wisconsin man was sentenced to prison for draining $135,000 from an elderly woman in a drawn-out scam.
A 38-year-old man who served as the in-person cash collector in a scheme that stripped $135,000 from an elderly Wisconsin woman has been sentenced to...
McKenzie Memorial Hospital patients hit by a cyberattack can claim up to $4,000, or a flat $50, by August 24.
Patients swept into the McKenzie Health System data breach can now choose between a flat $50 payment with no paperwork or reimbursement of up to...
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...