Fraud Advice from The Federal Trade Commission

Fraud Advice from The Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov)

THE FACE OF FRAUD:
IT IS NOT WHO YOU THINK.

Believe it or not, there is
no typical fraud victim,
but research finds that
fraud victims are likely to
be educated, informed,
relatively affluent, and
involved in their communities.
Scammers don’t care about
your age, race, income, or geographic location. They just
want your money.

YOU WOULDN’T FALL FOR IT?

Thousands of people are defrauded each year. Scam
artists use the latest trends and sophisticated techniques:
􀁺 professional marketing materials
􀁺 well-crafted and researched telephone scripts, which
are traded among criminals

DON’T FALL FOR
THE BIG PRIZE SCAM

A caller says you won a big lottery prize but you must
send money before you can collect.
It’s fraud and you will lose your money!
Contact the FTC: www.ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP.
Legitimate lottery and sweepstakes administrators never
charge fees to deliver your prize. If you send money, you
will never get it back.

FRAUD

RECOGNIZE IT.

REPORT IT.

STOP IT.

􀁺 a friendly tone and “generous” offer to put you at ease
􀁺 believable answers to your tough questions
􀁺 an ability to impersonate legitimate businesses,
charities, and causes
􀁺 expertly using your own emotions against you
They are professional criminals: They know what they’re
doing and, unfortunately for their victims, they do it well.

YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF.

Identity theft is the fastest-growing type of fraud. Crooks
can do bad things using your good name. Protect your
precious personal information. Ask all marketing, research,
or charity callers for:
􀁺 detailed, written information that you can check out
yourself
􀁺 time to think about the offer. Scam artists pressure
you for an answer, saying the offer will expire or go to
the next person if you don’t act now
􀁺 valid references and a way to contact them
􀁺 a call-back number. This is not fool-proof. Seasoned
crooks are happy to give you a cell phone or unlisted
number where a colleague is standing by to finish
taking your number.

THE BEST WAY TO HELP STOP
FRAUD IS TO REPORT IT.

If a scam artist has contacted you or if you’ve been
defrauded, contact the FTC at
http://www.ftc.gov
or
1-877-FTC-HELP.

We gather evidence, identify fraud trends
and alert law enforcement throughout the U.S., Canada,
and abroad. By reporting your experience, you can
prevent others from becoming victims and help put an
end to fraud.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/fraud.pdf