Common Member Scams

Each year, fraudsters find new ways to trick people and financial institutions out of money. Whether its an imposter scam – impersonating a love interest, a grandchild, debt collector, the Social Security Administration etc. – or stealing someone’s identity, these fraudsters know how to pull it off. While some of these scams involve new tricks, many have been around for decades.

Of the nearly 2.2 million fraud reports, 34% indicated money was lost. In 2020, people reported losing more than $3.3 billion to fraud – an increase of nearly $1.5 billion over 2019. Using common channels like emails, text, and phone calls; fraudsters typically disguise their identify while retrieving confidential member information.

Bank transfers and payments accounted for the highest aggregate losses reported in 2020 ($314 million) with wire transfer close by ($311 million), while credit cards most frequently identified as the payment method in fraud reports. While it can be difficult to prevent scams from happening; you can help educate your members on what to look.

Common Member Scams

• Romance – Scammers create fake online dating profiles to lure victims into giving them money.
• Secret Shopper – Fraudsters pose as companies offering mystery shopping services to dupe shopper out of money.
• Advanced Fee – Victim enticed to wire upfront fees for a fictious promise of receiving a gift of money.
• Elderly Abuse – Seniors are tricked into sending money to help their relatives / grandkids or pay for services.
• Social Security / IRS / Government – Threaten to suspend your social security number or arrest you or take other legal action.
• Tech Support – Posing as a computer technician attempts to sell services, steal PII, or get access to your computer to install malware.

Continue reading here.