Every year countless people are bilked by impersonation scams. Since 2018, the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network has received approximately three million reports of impersonation scams citing losses of more than $6 billion.
Two particularly pernicious forms of the fraud are committed by crooks who pose as government officials or representatives of well-known companies. They use a false aura of authenticity in an effort to steal money or sensitive information from consumers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a Public Service Announcement on March 7, warning the public of “ongoing widespread fraud schemes in which scammers impersonate law enforcement or government officials in attempts to extort money or steal personally identifiable information.”
The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General spearheaded a scam alert issued by multiple Federal law enforcement agencies on May 20 warning the public of government impersonation scams involving the reproduction of Federal law enforcement credentials and badges.
In some impersonation scams, fraudsters instruct consumers to convert cash into cryptocurrency under false threats of government investigations or fraud. Many impersonators who commit prepaid card fraud use “gray markets ” to sell items purchased with the cards, making it harder to detect…
