A few weeks ago, I noted that imposter scams secured the top spot for types of fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2023, with related losses of $2.7 billion. The Better Business Bureau has received similar reports of impostor related schemes on our BBB Scam Tracker site.
There's a variety of scenarios that can fall under impostor scams, including people pretending to be your bank's fraud department, the government, a relative in distress, a well-known business or a technical support expert.
Currently, consumers and employees are reporting a trend in receiving urgent sounding emails from "businesses" claiming a subscription or membership is about to expire. The emails typically ask for the recipient to click a link to provide payment information — and some even offer a "special deal" or discount for updating your payment information immediately.
Other emails contain messages claiming your subscription has just been renewed and these typically contain a link to a payment confirmation page or include a receipt as an attachment. Very similar messaging is coming over via text messages as well.
It can be extremely difficult to recognize an impostor's email versus a valid email. They may make an effort to add authenticity to the email by including the impostored business's logo and contact information. You may even receive an email around the time a valid subscription has expired or will be expiring. (This could be coincidence or might be a sign that your account information was gathered as part of a data breach).
Unfortunately, if you click on the link and provide your credit card information on their payment page, your information and finances are now at risk for several reasons. Your card will likely be charged for a bogus fee and the scammer now has your personal and financial information. If you open an attachment — depending on the type of file — or if you click over to a website that's associated with the payment link, the sender could also be unknowingly downloading spyware or malware on to your computer or phone.
The key to avoiding these schemes is to ensure that you don't allow yourself to be pulled into the urgency of the message. Instead, devote a few minutes to doing your research to verify if the message is valid. This can help you avoid losing money and the headaches of resolving ID theft.
It may be as simple as logging into your account by using what you know is a valid account link. Here's an example that an individual shared on BBB Scam Tracker, which describes how they avoided the attempted fraud:
"Received an email Jan. 3 that my 'Sirius XM account has expired!' This email came in one day after my normal Sirius XM renewal date. The email wanted me to go to a website and 'insert' my credit card info. ... Before proceeding, I logged into my actual Sirius XM account and verified it had automatically renewed as normal. What threw me off at first was that the scammer somehow knew my renewal date. I did not lose any money."
Here are some additional steps you can take to avoid impostor email or texted phishing scams:
— Take a second look at the email. There are several red flags that identify phishing emails. Look at the sender's email address — if it's a long string of numbers and letters that don't make sense or if the email address just doesn't look right, it's likely an impostor. Scare tactics and urgent requests are also quite common for phishing emails, as are spelling errors and poorly written emails.
— Contact the authentic business to confirm the email. If you're unable to confirm the validity of the email on your own, call the business's verified phone number directly (don't use any phone numbers that are included in the questionable email you received) and confirm your account details with them.
— Keep track of your subscriptions and any auto-renewing payments. Keep track of any subscription or membership renewal dates and the anticipated charges on a calendar so you know when to expect them. That way, you can have a better idea of determining when a subscription renewal email is fake or not.
— Think twice before providing payment for something you didn't initiate. Make it a habit to not provide your payment information to anyone in response to a message if you did not initiate a purchase or conversation. Be especially wary of any request to pay with your bank account number, prepaid credit cards, digital wallet apps or wiring money. These usually serve as a red flag, as those are typically untraceable forms of payment.
— Check with BBB Scam Tracker. If you're questioning an email you received from a business, look up the details on BBB Scam Tracker and verify if anyone else has received the same type of email. This can help you verify whether or not the email is fake.
— Once you verify the email is fake, report it as spam and delete it. Your email provider may provide an option for you to mark an email as spam. If you've verified that the email is a scam, report it and delete it right away. If you receive any fraudulent messages by text, copy the message and report it to the number 7726 (SPAM). This helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages in the future.
We also encourage you to share your experience on BBB Scam Tracker. This helps others stay informed about the types of fraud that are targeting our area.
More information can be found on bbb.org, including additional information on impersonation scams and how to avoid impostor scams. BBB also offers several tips on how to spot a scam, like how to identify a fake website, a scam text message or a phony email.
Shred Day is April 13
A proactive step toward protecting your identity is to safely shred unneeded documents and/or hard drives that contain personally identifiable information and banking information. You can do this for free at BBB's next Shred Day.
The bi-annual event will be held from 9 a.m.-noon in the parking lot of Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 2111 W. Shepherd Road in Chattanooga. (Location is near Exit 1A/Airport off Highway 153).
In addition to bringing paper documents and hard drives for destruction, electronics can also be brought for recycling and outdated or unneeded prescription drugs can be dropped off for safe disposal.
Please limit documents to three large trash bags per person and limit hard drives to four per person. For more information, visit bbb.org/Chattanooga or call your BBB at 423-266-6144.
Thank you to our event partners: Resource 1 Tier 3 Data Security, Hamilton County Coalition, River City Shredding, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Cumulus Media Chattanooga, First Horizon Bank and Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Michele Mason is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.