Who: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports a surge in impersonation scams, with perpetrators posing as businesses or government agencies.
What: In 2023, impersonation scams reported to the FTC amounted to approximately $1.1 billion in losses, tripling since 2020. These scams are now predominantly initiated through text messages or emails rather than phone calls.
Impact: The shift towards online initiation represents a significant change, with 40 percent of reported cases starting online compared to 32 percent from scam phone calls. In 2023, the FTC received 330,000 reports of business impersonation scams and nearly 160,000 reports of government impersonation scams, collectively constituting half of the agency's fraud-response workload. Scammers often blend business and government impersonations within a single scam, complicating detection. Common tactics include fake account-security alerts, phony subscription renewals, sham prizes or giveaways, fictitious packages and deliveries, and impersonation of law enforcement entities.
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