Spotting and Avoiding Scams For Ethnic Communities and beyond Ariel International Center September 24, 2024
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a government agency that protects people from frauds and scams. Unfortunately, scammer often target communities that they feel are vulnerable. That may be senior citizens, immigrants or members of ethnic communities. The FTC partnered with Ethnic Media Services (EMS) and hosted an event in Cleveland Ohio on September 24, 2024 dealing with Spotting and Avoiding Scams - especially for the ethnic communities.
Experts from several agencies were joined by ethnic community leaders and members of ethnic media outlets for a robust and informative session.
There are numerous federal and local resources for people to prevent and protect from scams and also to report a scam if it occurs. The resources are available in multiple languages and should be shared with others in your community.
There are three prongs to preventing a scammer from harming you and your community: Protecting Yourself, Identifying a Scam and What to do if you were scammed. Here are some resources:
How to Protect Yourself
A great resource to learn about avoiding scams is Consumer.gov. This website includes information on scams that target immigrants, warnings about notarios and how to get legitimate help with immigration. For example:
Get advice from U.S. government websites. A website might look like it comes from the government. Make sure the website address ends with .gov. That means it is a government website.
Do not pay a notario for legal advice. Notarios will not help you, even when you pay them.
Don't carry all your important papers or ID cards with you.
Don't click on unknown links in email messages.
Make sure websites start with https. The "s" at the end means the site is secure.
Many more useful and important tips at Consumer.gov. Identifying and Preventing a Scam
Experts say that Imposter Scams are the most common currently. In Imposter Scams someone pretends to be someone they are not, maybe even a friend, relative or co-worker, and contacts you out of the blue and tries to distract you and convince you to act urgently. They want you to pay in cash or gift cards or wire transfer or similar non-standard methods.
The government and legitimate companies will never do this! In addition do NOT give out personal information in response to an unexpected request whether it comes as a text, phone call or e-mail.
You can sign up for free Consumer Alerts at ftc.gov/consumeralerts to be kept informed about the latest scams.
Don't believe your Caller ID. Technology allows for scamming here. If someone asks for money or personal information, just hang up. You can always call the legitimate number of the business to confirm.
Don't pay upfront for a promise such as job assistance, mortgage assistance or the like.
Take your time. Con artists want you to act in a hurry. If in doubt, slow down and check with trusted sources, search online and so on.
Hang up on Robocalls. Don't press a button to be taken off the list. That could lead to more calls.
Be skeptical about free trial offers. These can lead to unwanted billings and difficult cancellations.
Don't deposit a check and wire money back. This is a common scam where you will end up being responsible for paying back the bank.
Don't click on unknown links in e-mails. They can look legitimate so be very wary. Also, don't grant remote access to your computer even in messages pop up warning you.
It is very important to report if you were scammed. Go to https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ and choose your language. You can also call the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 (1-877-FTC-HELP)
You can remain anonymous, speak in your own language and give as much or as little information as you want.
Note: Scammers are impersonating the FTC. Know that the FTC will never threaten you, say you must transfer your money to "protect it," or tell you to withdraw cash or buy gold and give it to someone. Learn more at ftc.gov/impersonators
Do not be ashamed or embarrassed. The scammers are often professionals who spend a lot of money and time trying to fool you. Everybody gets targeted and people from every age group and demographic have been scammed.
We spoke with John Vega, a Senior Investigator at the FTC based in Washington DC. John told how the losses from scams were staggering. The digital age allows someone to reach and scam millions of people. He told how Imposter Scams were the current most prevalent type of scam. That is when you are contacted by what seems to be a legitimate company or group - even those you are familiar with and/or have relationships with like a bank, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. - but they are not real. John advises to hang up the phone and call the company directly to inquire.
John Vega
He stresses that the government and legitimate companies will never ask you to send money or have a strong sense of urgency in collecting. In addition, legitimate companies will never ask for gift cards, cash, to have someone pick something up from you, bitcoin or moving your money to a ""safe" location. John says there are resources in multiple languages and stresses how important it is to report any scams. You should not be embarrassed and by reporting you are helping the FTC track down the scammers. Watch the video interview.
We also spoke with Larissa Bungo who is a senior attorney in the Division of Consumer and Business Education of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. She told of the prevalence of Imposter Scams and how the FTC has a new Imposter Rule to combat them. In Imposter Scams someone pretends to be someone they are not and contacts you out of the blue and tries to distract you and convince you to act urgently. They want you to pay in cash or gift cards or wire transfer or the like which the government and legitimate companies will never do.
Larissa Bungo
She advises everyone to sign up for Consumer Alerts at ftc.gov/consumeralerts. She said the best defense is to share information about preventing and reporting scams. She said that people can report scams anonymously, in their own language and only share as much information as they want - but it is very important to report scams. Watch the video interview.
Here is a video of the opening remarks from the event from Sandy Close, Executive Director of EMS who gave a brief introduction and then the 4 experts' remarks: Larissa Bungo and Adrienne Jenkins from the FTC, Katherine Hollingsworth from Legal Aid and Sheryl Harris from Cuyahoga County. Watch the video.
We at ClevelandPeople.com are proud to provide this important information from the FTC and Ethnic Media Services. A special thanks to Sandy Close and Anthony Advincula from EMS and Chia-Min Chen from the City of Cleveland. Please contact us if you have any questions.
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