FBI Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Seres warns that scammers are getting better at masking themselves as legitimate sellers, particularly online.
ATLANTA — Holiday scams are on the rise, and according to the FBI, thieves are finding new ways to take advantage of people online during a giving season.
FBI Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Seres warns that scammers are getting better at masking themselves as legitimate sellers, particularly online. One of the biggest scams this year is charity scams, with Seres advising people to look for traditional, legitimate websites when making donations.
On a normal day, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) said they receive around 2,500 complaints about online scams.
This holiday season, the FBI is anticipating a higher loss from romance and investment scams. The department said this is due to an increase in a scam called “Pig Butchering.” This scam involves the thief building a trusted online relationship with the victim to “fatten them up,” convincing them to send money or invest in high-yield cryptocurrency accounts and then disappearing with the funds.
Thieves are also using texting and social apps to target victims. Gift cards are highly preferred since they are harder to trace than other types online currency.
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