National Slam the Scam Day – March 9
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
March 5, 2022 — How many people do you know who have been scammed? Chances are, there are a lot more than you know about, including many friends or relatives who are too embarrassed to talk about it. Scammers are counting on you being uninformed of their deceptive tactics so that you will fall prey to their ruses. Don’t let it happen. The Social Security Administration, invoked maliciously by so many criminals, wants you to join them on National Slam the Scam Day, March 9, 2023. Their aim is to help raise awareness and prevent scammers from succeeding in crimes against innocent victims.
National Slam the Scam Day was created in 2020 to combat Social Security-related scams. Last year, it expanded to include other government imposter scams as reported losses from consumers climbed to more than $446 million in 2021. According to the Federal Trade Commission, reported losses for 2022 are nearly $509 million. And unreported losses are so much more.
Beware a government agency telling you about a problem.
Comments on "National Slam the Scam Day – March 9"
adsf says:
very nice post, thank you
johnasdf says:
I have not been victim so far, thanks Gods!
Admin says:
Now AI is getting in on the act. CNN reports on how scammers are using AI to imitate the voice of a kidnapped victim in order to extort money. The victim is fine, but the voice sounds so real people are paying ransoms. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/29/us/ai-scam-calls-kidnapping-cec/index.html
Mike says:
QR codes are being used to steal information:
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/12/scammers-hide-harmful-links-qr-codes-steal-your-information
JCarol says:
Thanks for the tip, admin. I'm generally very skeptical of QR codes and will be even more so now.
Despite creating a lengthy unlock password, linking a phone in any way to banking, CC, shopping, Venmo and similar, or any other financial connections feels risky to me, so my phone has none of those links. It hasn't proven to be inconvenient.
Mike says:
News to me but apparently SIM card swapping has been around for years but is happening more often, Criminals are able to get your cell phone provider to deactivate your SIM and then activate a new card in a phone they have which then gives access to your financial accounts.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2019/10/sim-swap-scams-how-protect-yourself
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/sim-swapping-how-the-latest-cellphone-hacking-scam-works-and-how-to-protect-yourself/3686051/