Scammers, like viruses, have evolved into sophisticated operations that follow trends and target all age groups. The top three scams involve credit card debt, medical debt and student loan debt.
According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid Office, nearly 43 million Americans have student loan debt. Many students seeking relief through theBiden administration's student loan forgiveness plan found themselves applying on fraudulent websites.
On Cincinnati Edition, we learn more about the top scams in the country, how to recognize them and what to do if you suspect that someone is trying to scam you.
Guests:
- Dave Hatter, cyber security consultant, intrustIT
- Detective Kevin Manos, Criminal Investigation Section, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
- Janice Tibbetts, forensic accountant, FBI
Resources for reporting fraud:
- Report Internet Crimes to the FBI division of Internet Crimes Complaint Center: www.ic3.gov
- Romance scams that appeal to the emotion and use phone calls or fake identities on social media; report those to the Federal Trade Commission online or by phone: 877-382-4357.
- Phone scams can be reported to: www.reportfraud.ftc.gov
- A call that is received using a fake number or VOIP number can be reported to www.donotcall.gov They publish new phone numbers everyday to enable phone companies to be aware of which phone numbers to record as potential scam and blacklist them.
Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.
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