PHOENIX — Across the country, government agencies and advocacy groups are taking part in National Consumer Protection Week. It's a time to help people understand their consumer rights and avoid fraud and scams.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost $10 billion to scammers in 2023. One of the most popular fraud schemes pulled by crooks was the impostor scam.
"It's one of the scams that doesn't go away. It just keeps evolving," said Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez, a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.
Impostor scams come in many forms with crooks posing as employees of banks or major brands like Amazon, government officials, and even law enforcement.
"They're giving real names, like they would give Sgt. Enriquez, my badge number, my phone number to my office - all of that information is public record."
Sgt. Enriquez says scammers mix in some truth to make the scam believable. He says scammers are posing as Arizona law enforcement officers calling victims claiming a warrant has been issued for their arrest.
"They say 'we need you to send us $2,500 or we're going to come arrest you,'" said Sgt. Enriquez.
He says scammers will go to great lengths to put fear into their victims.
Scammers not only use the names of real law enforcement agents but also gather personal details of their victims to make their claims seem legitimate. Sgt. Enriquez says many people's personal details can be gathered easily by searching their online profiles. Some scammers have reportedly gone as far as to play radio and siren noises in the background of their phone calls to make their messages seem more urgent and scary.
But it's all a big show to play on people's fear.
"No law enforcement agency will call you and ask you for money and to put it on a gift card, a debit card, whatever it is - it's not going to happen. It's it's completely false, and please don't fall victim," explained Sgt. Enriquez.
A law enforcement impostor scam plays on the victims' fear that they might get in trouble, but other impostor scams may play on people's hopes and dreams.
"The romance scam is particularly nasty," said Brian Watson, a spokesperson for the R.O.S.E. organization which educates and raises awareness about scams.
Watson says many old scams are getting a cryptocurrency upgrade. Romance scams are a long-term scam that results in life-changing losses. Sadly, that was the case for an Arizona victim who reached out to R.O.S.E.
"She thought she was investing in Bitcoin via her online boyfriend. She lost everything, including her house," Watson said.
Impostors may pose as many things, but eventually, they all ask the victim for money. The scammer talks the victim into withdrawing money from their bank or retirement accounts and directs them to a store with a cryptocurrency ATM. Once there, the victim is directed to insert their money into the ATM and buy cryptocurrency then the scammer sends them a QR code with their address embedded in it. Once the victim buys the currency and transfers the money using the code - the money is gone.
"The thing with these crypto scams [is] the losses are not in the tens of thousands, they're typically in the hundreds of thousands of dollars," Watson lamented.
He suggests not banking or investing in a currency if a person doesn't fully understand it.
Here's the main thing to know: When it comes to any unexpected communication or a highly emotional situation - good or bad - it's important to take a breath, hang up, and step away for a moment to clear your head. Never send money to people you don't know - or when you are not sure if they are who they say they are. If someone asks you to pay with a gift card or non-traditional currency - it's most likely a scam!
See examples of impostor scams, learn how they work, and how to recognize them, by clicking here.
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