The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a public
warning about scammers pretending to be affiliated with the FTC in an attempt
to steal money from consumers. The notice to consumers came shortly after the
agency announced its proposed rule to combat artificial intelligence impersonation.
The nature of the scam is similar to another recent incident
in which bad actors impersonated
federal employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to try to
defraud people, especially older adults.
Several consumers have reported scammers using real FTC
employee names when trying to convince them to move, transfer, send or wire
money. The median loss to FTC impersonators has increased from $3,000 in
2019 to $7,000 in 2024, according to the agency.
Newly released guidance from the FTC informs consumers how
to spot and avoid FTC impersonation schemes and urges them to report such
incidents at ReportFraud.ftc.gov in
English or ReporteFraude.ftc.gov in
Spanish.
The commission’s release names several common tactics used
by scammers that the agency will never do.
“The FTC will never tell consumers to move their money to ‘protect’
it,” the commission said in a press release. “The FTC will never send consumers
to a Bitcoin ATM, tell them to go buy gold bars, or demand they withdraw cash
and take it to someone in person. It will also never contact consumers to
demand money, threaten to arrest or deport them, or promise a prize. If someone
claims to work for the FTC and makes any of these demands or
threats, they are a scammer.”
Government and business impersonation scams have cost
consumers billions of dollars in recent years, and reports increased in 2023.
This fact prompted the FTC to finalize the Government
and Business Impersonation Rule, which strengthens the agency’s tools for
combatting scammers and its ability to return money to consumers harmed by
impersonators.