Ext Scam

Money Smarts, Personal Loans

No one wants to lose money to a financial scam or fraud. In 2020, the FTC received more than 2.1 million fraud reports resulting in consumers losing more than $3.3 billion, up from $1.8 billion in 2019.1

Keep yourself and your money safe using the resources below and know what to do if you’re a victim of a financial scam.

Most Common Scams
According to the FTC, these were the most reported types by consumers in 2020:

Imposter scams – A dishonest person will contact you, usually by phone, email, or text, and try to trick you into sending them money. These imposters will pretend they work for a company that you would typically trust and say things like you owe money to the IRS, you won a prize but have to pay money to get it, a friend is in trouble and needs your help, or you got a check for too much money and need to send back the extra. These scams typically follow the same formula: they contact you, they present a problem or a prize, you have to pay them to get the reward or stop the trouble, and they ask for untraditional and usually untraceable forms of payment like wire transfers or gift cards.
Identity theft – someone steals or tricks you into giving your personal information, used to commit fraud or other crimes. The most common misuse is applying for a government benefit like unemployment insurance or social security.

Online scams – include phishing emails, fake e-commerce sites, and software, all designed to trick you into sending them money or giving out your personal information.