Protect yourself from scammers

“I thought it was an easy side job for extra money.”
Mystery shopper scams

Mystery shopper scams
As the holiday season approaches, so do employment scams. Scammers advertise “mystery shopping” gigs on job boards and social media sites, or reach out to victims directly by phone, text, email or paper mailers. They may use a fake company name or impersonate real research firms and well-known retailers. They’ll make the job sound much more lucrative than it actually is and may seek money up front for training, certification or lists of shop-for-pay opportunities.




Helpful tips
Honest companies won’t charge you to work for them. Never wire or send money as part of a “mystery shopping” assignment and never deposit checks into your bank account and send the money back. Go to the official business website to see if they actually use secret shoppers.

“My bank called me about fraudulent transactions.”
Bank impersonation scams

Scammers may pose as a financial institution, like Capital One, to try and gain access to your account. They often use a fake caller ID that shows up as the financial institution and claim you’ve had fraudulent transactions on your account. To resolve the situation the scammer will have you make payments to reverse the fraud and protect the account. They’ll also sometimes ask for your Social Security number, government ID, or a digitally sent one-time passcode (OTP) to gain access to your account. Once they gain unauthorized access to your account, the real fraudulent transactions begin.




Helpful tips
If you’re ever in doubt when speaking over the phone, hang up and call the number on the back of your card. Financial institutions will never ask you to purchase gift cards to make payments to your account. Never send money transfers or give the number on the back of a gift card to anyone you don’t know.

“My family member sounded like they were in trouble.”
Impersonation of a loved one

Scammers may use artificial intelligence or other technologies to mimic voices when impersonating a trusted individual or organization. On these calls, they often impersonate a loved one in an emergency who needs money fast, or a trusted business needing to verify sensitive information. New technology makes it increasingly difficult to tell fake video or audio clips from real ones.



Helpful tips
Listen for unnatural pauses or robotic speech. Question unexpected requests for personal or financial information. Always verify the caller’s identity—often a loved one claiming to be in trouble—through a trusted source. To protect yourself, you can set up a code word with loved ones for true emergencies.