Scams & Fraud

As the federal government undertakes a major initiative to issue new identification cards to the nation’s 58 million Medicare beneficiaries, an AARP survey finds that a majority of those enrollees are at risk of being victimized by fraud schemes designed to capitalize on the card replacement program.

Scammers are now going to the federal Social Security website and setting up a “my Social Security” account of citizens that are of retirement age.

AARP has launched The Perfect Scam, a weekly podcast profiling America’s most shocking consumer scam stories. The show is cohosted by Will Johnson, an award-winning producer and veteran podcast host, and AARP Fraud Watch Network Ambassador Frank Abagnale, an FBI fraud consultant whose story was told in a hit book and movie Catch Me If You Can.

The following is a reprint of an April 4, 2018 consumer alert from New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald:

Join our series of online Q&A sessions to learn how to avoid them.

The following is a reprint of a March 27, 2018 consumer alert from New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald:

Every day, millions of Americans lose their hard-earned money to identity theft and other types of scams. Last year alone, 13.1 million Americans were victims of identity theft. That’s one person victimized every two seconds!

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is experiencing a big uptick in complaints that scammers pretending to be the FTC are calling, emailing, texting and faxing.

As the price of prescription drugs continues to rise, you might find yourself searching online for more affordable medications. Beware of bogus companies that take your money and never send you the product. Or worse, they send you a product that could cause you harm.

As tax filing season rolls on, be on the lookout for the IRS imposter scam. You may get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and saying you owe a specific amount in taxes. They may even threaten to arrest you if you don’t pay immediately.