Scams This Week 5/31/22

Online Sales Scam: Chances are, if you're shopping for deals on third-party sites like Facebook or craigslist, you're going to run into at least one scam. Lots of scammers set up shop online.

Scammers will sell fake or nonexistent items, ask for advanced payment, and often push to have the items sent through the mail, avoiding any in-person contact. They may ask to take the conversation offline or onto a different platform, which makes it harder to trace the fraud and the money once it's sent.

Sellers can get scammed too. The buyer will use counterfeit funds and pay more than the requested amount for the item. They will claim to have overpaid by mistake and ask for their money back. The seller will pay back the difference before they learn the original payment was counterfeit, so they lose the money. Always decline overpayments. There is no reason someone would pay more than the agreed-upon price or the price that is listed. If they did, they can always pay again once you decline their payment.

Fraud Alert Scams: The first and most common version of this scam is when you receive a text that indicates that you’re either a victim of fraud or asks if you just made a purchase or charge. The key thing to remember is that banks do send these text messages out. The phone number attached to the alert is fraudulent and will take you to the fraudster, so instead, make sure you look up your bank’s number and give them a call. If the alert mentions a bank that you don’t use, still look them up and give them a call. Fraud is so common so you want to make sure the bank knows you do not have an account with them and they are being used in a scam.