COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — If someone contacts you randomly and urges you to move or transfer your money, federal investigators say it’s likely a scam. Local consumer protection experts at the Better Buisness Bureau say they want you to be aware of what’s going on because it's costing some consumers thousands of dollars.
”If you do speak with them they are going to be good," said Paul Myers-Bennett from the BBB of Southern Colorado. "That’s their job. Their full-time job is to trick folks and try to get money.”
This consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commissionshows scammers are working to convince people to move money around through apps, wire transfers and gift cards. In most cases the money always winds up in the pocket of the criminals.
”It’s happening every day. So around the country this is happening to folks who are getting links in their texts, or they are emails, or they are getting phone calls. It’s happening and we need to know that this is a scam that’s taking folks for a lot of money,” said Myers-Bennett.
He says he's learned fraudsters love to use money issues as leverage when trying to steal from consumers.
”We all know money is what runs your life. It buys the food you eat, it purchases the fuel that helps your car go down the road. So, it is emotional. So, it’s easy to evoke fear,” said Myers-Bennett.
if you think there’s a real problem with one of your accounts, use a phone number, website, or app you know is real to contact the company. Don’t use contact information in the message you got. Myers-Bennett says it’s important to report these schemes when you uncover them to help investigators take action.
”Scam tracker for example you can report anonymously. What it does is it helps other folks not get taken, but also the more data we get the more likely these scammers can be found and the scam can stop,” said Myers-Bennett.
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