Active consumer scam alerts from the FTC and FBI IC3. Each one is rewritten in plain English: what the scam looks like, the red flags you can spot, and what to do if you have been targeted. The point is not to alarm you. The point is to give you the pattern, in language a smart neighbor would use.
Scammers send mail pretending to be lawyers offering you a share of unclaimed life insurance money from a deceased person with your last name. The offer is fake and designed to extract money from you.
Scammers call military members claiming to offer special debt forgiveness programs, then pocket the payment instead of helping with actual debt.
Scammers use stolen or AI-generated pet photos and videos to trick animal lovers into sending money or sharing personal information.
Scammers pose as travel vendors and websites to steal money from people booking summer vacations. They lure victims with fake deals and then disappear with payment.
Scammers impersonate property owners and sell real estate that does not belong to them. They trick buyers and title companies into processing fraudulent transactions.
Scammers posing as investment advisors convince victims to buy cryptocurrency, then send couriers to collect cash in person before the victim discovers the investment is fake.
Scammers pretend to be someone you know or trust to trick you into sending money or personal information. This is the most common scam reported in 2025.
Scammers call, text, or email claiming you missed jury duty and threaten arrest to scare you into paying a fake fine.
Scammers pose as government health insurance agencies in search results and ads to trick people into giving up personal information or money.
Scammers send fake CAPTCHA requests that look like real ones to trick you into installing malware on your device.
Scammers are impersonating hospice providers and billing Medicare for fake end-of-life care services. Victims lose money through fraudulent claims filed in their names.
Scammers text you claiming to be an FTC employee and offer to help recover money from a previous scam. They ask you to verify your identity or provide access to accounts.
Scammers steal your Medicare number to commit fraud, and dishonest providers bill Medicare for services you never received or items you don't need.
Scammers are creating fake FIFA websites to trick fans into buying counterfeit World Cup tickets and merchandise before the 2026 tournament.
Scammers send fake party invitations by text or email and ask you to enter your email password or a code to open them. Entering your credentials lets them steal your account.
Criminals are using a phishing toolkit called Kali365 to steal Microsoft 365 login credentials and access tokens from employees and organizations.
Scammers send fake invoices to small businesses for products or services the business never ordered, hoping the owner will pay without checking.
Scammers send text messages posing as recruiters and offer fake jobs to steal your money. They use urgency and legitimacy cues to pressure you into paying upfront fees or revealing personal information.
Social media scammers use fake ads, hacked accounts, and impersonation to steal money. Reported losses hit $2.1 billion in 2025, eight times higher than 2020.
Scammers post fake rental listings online, copy real properties, and pressure renters to send money and personal information before viewing the home in person. Since 2020, nearly 65,000 people have reported rental scams totaling $65 million in losses.
Scammers impersonate banks, government agencies, and tech companies to trick older adults into sending money by claiming there is a fake security crisis or unauthorized account activity.
Text scammers used five main tactics in 2024 to steal money: fake delivery notices, job offers that demand payment, fraudulent bank alerts, phony toll warnings, and romantic setups leading to fake investments.
Scammers pose as employers and offer easy online work involving simple tasks like liking videos or rating images. They trick victims into depositing money to unlock fake earnings that never existed.
Scammers trick you into withdrawing cash from your bank and depositing it into a Bitcoin ATM, claiming it will protect your money or fix a fake problem. The cash then goes straight into the scammer's account.
Scammers impersonate well-known businesses and government agencies in text, email, and phone calls to trick you into sending money or giving personal information. In 2023, the FTC received over 490,000 reports of these scams with losses exceeding $1.1 billion.
Scammers use social media to lure people into fake shopping deals, bogus investment schemes, and romance cons. Social media was the contact method in one in four fraud reports since 2021, with reported losses hitting 2.7 billion dollars.
Scammers send fake text messages impersonating banks, retailers, delivery services, and employers to steal money and personal information. These five scams account for over 40% of reported text fraud.
Romance scammers pose as potential partners on dating apps and social media to build fake relationships and extract money. They use lies about their identity, location, and circumstances to manipulate victims into sending cash, cryptocurrency, or gift cards.
Scammers are using cryptocurrency to steal money, exploiting people's limited understanding of how crypto works. Since 2021, over 46,000 people lost more than $1 billion in crypto scams.
Scammers pose as romantic partners on dating apps and social media to manipulate people into sending money, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Losses hit a record 547 million dollars in 2021.