Consumers have been defrauded by impersonators of Microsoft, Publishers Clearing House, Amazon, Best Buy, and PayPal.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a new rule on government and business impersonation, strengthening the agency’s ability to deter these scams. The agency revealed data showing that scammers most frequently impersonate Best Buy, Amazon, and PayPal. In 2023, approximately 52,000 consumer reports involved scammers posing as Best Buy or Geek Squad, roughly 34,000 reports involved Amazon impersonators, and nearly 10,000 reports involved scammers impersonating PayPal.
However, consumers lost the most money to scams involving Microsoft and Publishers Clearing House impersonations, with reported losses of $60 million and $49 million, respectively.
The rule will allow the FTC to file federal court cases to recover money for victims and impose civil penalties on violators. The report also highlighted that scammers commonly received payment through cryptocurrency, bank transfers, and payment apps like PayPal, CashApp, and Zelle.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For FTC Chair Lina Khan to be led by God as she oversees the commission’s attempt to protect consumers.
- For wisdom for the FTC commissioners as they evaluate strategies to deter impersonators.
Sources: Federal Trade Commission
