4 New Scams Targeting Americans and How To Keep Your Money Safe

Josephine Nesbit    Wed, March 8, 2023

Scams always seem to be on the rise, and criminals are constantly developing new tactics to swindle the average American. Recent Federal Trade Commission data showed that consumers reported losing nearly $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022 — a 30% increase over the previous year — with the most commonly reported being imposter fraud.

“Right now, transnational criminals from all over the world have their sights set on American citizens, American banks and the American government,” Haywood Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government Group, wrote to GOBankingRates.

“Vast amounts of Americans’ personally identifiable information (PII) is available on the dark web, and it was this information, in conjunction with weak fraud prevention systems, that led to our government losing hundreds of billions of dollars to fraud during the pandemic,” added Talcove. “Now that ‘pandemic relief’ programs are over, or winding down, these same fraudsters are using our PII, except they’re going after individuals rather than the government.”

Here are the details on four new scams targeting the American public and how to better protect yourself:

1. Voice Cloning and AI Deepfakes

Scammers are using artificial intelligence to mimic your voice, or that of a loved one, using examples of your speech online pretending to be in trouble. For example, you could get a call from your grandson’s number saying he’s in jail and needs $5,000 to bail him out with directions to pay. You rush to the bank and wire the funds only to learn it was all a scam.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, if something seems off, ask security questions to verify the person on the other end. Voice cloning and AI deepfakes are sophisticated, but they won’t be able to answer personal questions without a delay.

2. ATM “Tap and Glue” Scheme

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https://news.yahoo.com/4-scams-targeting-americans-keep-231857156.html