News Stories, Senior News

FTC Warns of Scammers Posing as Popular Online Retailers

A new scam out there is taking advantage of all the online shopping people are doing during the pandemic.

According to the FTC, rather than impersonating government officials or other authorities, they are posing as popular online shopping websites, phishing for your personal information.

For example, you get a call from someone who claims to be with “Amazon.com.” The voice on the phone will say that your credit card has been charged a large amount of money for some order. Then, they’ll give you the “Amazon Support” phone number and tell you to immediately call if you didn’t make that purchase.

If this seems suspicious, that’s because it is. Scammers want you to call the number they give so they can ask for your passwords, credit card number, and other sensitive information to get your money. If you get a call like this you should just hang up. Once that is done check your credit or debit card account to ensure there aren’t any charges you don’t recognize.

– Hang up. Don’t call them back on the number they gave you. If you’re concerned about an order you didn’t place, contact the business through a customer service phone number or email you know is legitimate. You can usually find a company’s real information on their website.

– Check your credit card account. If you see a charge you don’t recognize, file a dispute with your credit card company immediately.

– Report the fake call to the business. Make sure to use the contact information from their website – not the information from the phone call. You can also report the call to the FTC.

If you gave information to a business imposter, head to IdentityTheft.gov for tips to protect yourself. To learn more about imposter scams, visit the FTC’s Imposter Scams page.