Scams & Fraud

AARP Ohio volunteers present “Fraud Basics: The Scam Landscape & Staying Safe” to help you protect yourself from scams and identity theft.

Many of us have used a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app to split a bill or send money to a friend, and some people even use them for traditional shopping. However, there are inherent risks that exist on these payment apps that everyone should know about.

The numbers are in and last year was yet another historic year for fraud. The Federal Trade Commission released its annual compendium of fraud reports from 2023, and the news is shocking. For the first time ever reported theft through fraud topped $10 billion. The total is 14% higher than what was reported in 2022 and 5 times greater than reported losses in 2019.

One of the oldest scams around involves a criminal getting hold of one of your checks and forging the payee and the amount. Usually this is done by “washing” the check with chemicals to remove the real information you have written on it. Today, with access to new technologies, criminals are “cooking” checks by creating fake versions of real checks using computer programs. These “cooked” checks can be manipulated digitally and either printed or deposited electronically, saving the crook a lot of mess and hassle.

Many of us have used a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app to split a bill or send money to a friend, and some people even use them for traditional shopping. However, there are inherent risks that exist on these payment apps that everyone should know about.

Find a location near you and shred your sensitive documents.

AARP FL is sponsoring free shred events at select locations around the state to help people fight back against fraud and protect them from identity theft.

Picture this: You’re going about your normal day, when you receive a call from Amazon’s Fraud Department about some strange transactions on your account – but they need you to provide some account information... Sounds fishy, right? So, you make the smart decision to hang up and contact Amazon directly.

The numbers are in and last year was yet another historic year for fraud.

It’s that time of year again – the holidays are long past, and summer is still a long way off. It’s time for a spring getaway. But beware, for everyone looking for a great spring break deal there is a criminal out there offering an amazing deal. These three tips will help you spot a potential travel scam.