Online Scam Awareness

Online Scam Awareness We provide the latest information to warn Americans about online fraud.

Through detailed articles about fraud, we hope to receive your complaints to work with the FTC legal agency to protect the rights of Americans.

๐…๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฐ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌIf you feel like you get more than your share of unwanted calls, youโ€™re ...
08/21/2025

๐…๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฐ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ

If you feel like you get more than your share of unwanted calls, youโ€™re not alone. To slow down these persistent calls โ€” some of which lead straight to scams โ€” take a few simple steps.

Register your phone number for free in the National Do Not Call Registry. Registering will likely cut down how many unwanted calls you get. Unfortunately, it wonโ€™t stop calls from scammers to your home and mobile phone โ€” and there are still organizations and groups allowed to call you.

Hang up on robocalls. Getting a lot of recorded messages trying to sell you something? Odds are the calls are not legal. Donโ€™t press any numbers or call back. Instead, hang up and report them at news-cfpb.com

Use your phoneโ€™s built-in features. Many cell phones have settings that let you block calls from specific numbers or send certain calls straight to voicemail, especially if they come from a phone number you donโ€™t recognize.

Check call-blocking or call-labeling services. Find out what your phone company offers by contacting their customer service using a phone number or website you know is right. Watch a short video to help you block unwanted calls on your cell phone or home phone.

Research apps to filter calls before downloading. Some call-blocking apps are free, while others charge. At ctia.org, you can see wireless industry lists of call-blocking apps. See what independent experts are saying and check the ratings and reviews on your online app store before you decide on a call-blocking app.

08/19/2025

โš ๏ธโš ๏ธโš ๏ธ If you ever feel something is wrong, be brave โ€” report it. Together, we can stop scams and protect each other.

๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐‘๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐: โ€œ๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ฒ ๐’๐œ๐š๐ฆ ๐Œ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ?โ€๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐œ๐š๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌโ€”๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ข...
08/19/2025

๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐‘๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐: โ€œ๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ฒ ๐’๐œ๐š๐ฆ ๐Œ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ?โ€

๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐œ๐š๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌโ€”๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. What may seem like innocent flirting could actually be the start of a carefully crafted โ€œromance scam.โ€ In recent years, victims of love scams have been reported all over the world, with total losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

One notable case involves the scam operation known as โ€œLiar Menting Lin Bi,โ€ which highlights crimes rooted in romance and marriage fraud. Many online scammers are carefully selected for their appearance and communication skills, then forced into participating in fraudulent activities along border areas in Southeast Asia, such as Myanmar.

An investigative report by BBC International exposed the inner workings of such scams, including an exclusive interview with a former insider who revealed some of the most common tactics used to manipulate and trap victims.

These organized scams, often disguised as โ€œtravel recovery scams,โ€ are essentially romance scams. Scammers contact their victims and, once they establish a relationship, use various unethical methods to get more money out of them.

๐€ ๐‚๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ž๐ซ ๐‹๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž โ€œ๐‘๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐’๐œ๐š๐ฆโ€ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž

Romance scams are one of the most widespread and deceptive types of online fraud today. Scammers exploit victimsโ€™ longing for love and emotional connection to carry out sophisticated financial traps.

Criminal groups often create fake social media profiles using stolen photos and made-up identities. They target individuals based on specific traits or interests. These scammers spend weeksโ€”or even monthsโ€”building trust with victims through constant communication, sweet talk, and empty promises, creating strong emotional dependence.

๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐’๐œ๐š๐ฆ ๐“๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ ๐ˆ๐ง๐œ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ž:

Fake emergencies requiring urgent financial help
Investment โ€œopportunitiesโ€ promising high returns
Requests for travel expenses to finally meet in person
Claims of being detained and needing bail money

๐“๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐Ÿ:

Be cautious with online relationships, especially if youโ€™ve never met in person
Watch out for people who fall in love too quickly or move the relationship forward too fast
Never send money to someone youโ€™ve only met online
Use reverse image search to verify if their profile photo is stolen
Talk to friends or family about your interactions and get a second opinion
Remember: Real love doesnโ€™t come with a price tag. If you suspect youโ€™re being targeted by a romance scam, stop all communication immediately and report it to the proper authorities.

08/19/2025

The Everyday Service Scam You Didnโ€™t See Coming

08/18/2025

Beware of Online Identity Fraud

08/18/2025

Beware of telecommunications fraud

๐…๐ซ๐š๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐“๐š๐ซ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐”๐’ ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ฎ๐›๐ฌ ๐€๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐’๐จ๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ข๐š ๐š๐ง๐ ๐Œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐š๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌThe FBI...
03/15/2025

๐…๐ซ๐š๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐“๐š๐ซ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐”๐’ ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ฎ๐›๐ฌ ๐€๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐’๐จ๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ข๐š ๐š๐ง๐ ๐Œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐š๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ

The FBI warns the public about criminals targeting US stock investors through social media platforms and messaging service applications (apps). The scheme, known as a "ramp-and-dump" stock manipulation, targets US investors through online engagement, often via social media advertisements or messages promoting an "investment club" of fellow investors, some of which may be bots or fake accounts. These promotions typically direct victims to secure messaging apps where the group operates. To appear credible, perpetrators may impersonate legitimate brokerage firms or well-known stock analysts. They secretly control a large volume of a low-priced stock and coordinate efforts to inflate its price ("ramp up") by encouraging investment club members to purchase shares over a period of several weeks or months. Once the price is artificially elevated, the criminals sell off ("dump") their shares at a profit, leaving unsuspecting investors with significant losses as the stock value collapses.

๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐€๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ "๐‘๐š๐ฆ๐ฉ-๐š๐ง๐-๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ" ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐…๐ซ๐š๐ฎ๐

So far in 2025, the FBI has seen at least a 300 percent increase in victim complaints referencing ramp-and-dump stock fraud from 2024. Investors can protect themselves from potential ramp-and-dump schemes by recognizing the following indicators:

Unsolicited investment tips received via "accidental" text messages or social media advertisements linking to online investment clubs, often hosted on secure messaging apps;
Claims from well-known financial advisors or wealth managers offering exclusive stock recommendations through these online clubs;
Pressure to act quickly based on a supposed market-moving event โ€” such as a company breakthrough, new technology, or government approval; and,
Urgent pitches to purchase low-priced stocks in new or emerging companies, often paired with promises of dramatic price increases or guarantees to cover any investor losses.
If anyone requests your personal information, access to your financial account(s), or offers a financial benefit in exchange for sharing your information or opening an account, consider this a red flag; your information could be used to open an account through which another party can engage in manipulative activity.

๐‘๐ž๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ˆ๐ง๐œ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐…๐ซ๐š๐ฎ๐

The CFPB Internet Crime Complaint Center confirms a sharp increase in complaints this past year referencing investment club fraud schemes or ramp-and-dump stock manipulation schemes. The CFPB requests investors who suspect they have been victimized by investment fraud to report the incident to the CFPB at news-cfpb.com as soon as possible.

๐‡๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ž ๐š๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐›๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐“๐ž๐ฑ๐š๐ฌIn response to the devastating floods in Central Texas, many people are loo...
11/09/2024

๐‡๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ž ๐š๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐›๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐“๐ž๐ฑ๐š๐ฌ

In response to the devastating floods in Central Texas, many people are looking for ways to give and receive help. Unfortunately, scammers are also trying to exploit peopleโ€™s goodwill. So, how can you ensure your donation goes to the right people in need and not into the hands of fraudsters?

Donate to charities you know and trust that have a proven track record in disaster response.
Before donating, do your own research on the charity โ€” especially if the donation request was posted on social media. Check the charityโ€™s information on Give.org from the Better Business Bureau or Charity Watch. Make sure you understand how your donation will directly benefit those the charity is committed to helping.
Avoid donating to anyone who asks for payment in cash, gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. These are common methods used by scammers to receive funds. If you decide to donate, paying by credit card offers better protection.
Be cautious when donating to individuals via crowdfunding sites. Keep in mind that donations raised through a crowdfunding campaign typically go to the campaign organizer, not directly to the people or cause itโ€™s intended to support. Review the platformโ€™s policies โ€” do they have measures in place to verify posts requesting disaster relief? And remember, donations made through crowdfunding platforms are not tax-deductible.
Verify phone numbers before texting to donate. If someone asks you to donate via text, call the number listed on the charityโ€™s official website to confirm youโ€™re using the correct number for donations.
By taking these precautions, you can help ensure your contribution goes to those who need it most, without falling victim to fraud.

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