FTC reveals red flags to detect impostor scams, the new No. 1 fraud

[McFurd]

CBS News - 3/9/2017 - A growing number of consumers are falling victim to impostor scams. That’s when a con artist impersonates someone trustworthy, like a government official or law enforcement agent. A new report from the Federal Trade Commission says complaints about impostor scams surpassed identity theft for the first time. The FTC looked at more than three million consumer complaints. American consumers reported losing more than $744 million overall to fraud in 2016, averaging roughly $1,000 per victim. Richard Tanner said the call he received took him by surprise. “I literally was about to hang up when they said, ‘Are you at this address?’ And it was my P.O. box that I’ve had for many, many years,” Tanner said.
The man on the other end said he was Sgt. Wade Marshal with the sheriff’s department, and Tanner owed fines of $1,600 for failing to appear for jury duty. Read more @ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/impostor-sc ... theft-ftc/