Scam
What are some of the most common signs that the person behind the screen or on the other end of the line is not who they say they are?
April 18, 2024
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5 minutes. read
Our world becomes more impersonal as it becomes more digitally central. And because we can’t see the person or organization on the other end of an email, social media message, or text message, it’s easier for scammers to pretend to be something or someone they’re not. This is impersonation fraud and is fast becoming one of the highest earners for cybercriminals. According to the FTC it is Scammers posing as companies and governments made $1.1 billion from their victims in 2023.
Impersonation fraud can take many forms, but if you keep an eye out for the signs of a scam, your personal information and hard-earned money will remain under lock and key.
What does impersonation fraud look like?
Like most frauds, impersonation frauds are designed to get you to send money or personal/financial information to the bad guys, which they can sell on the dark web or use themselves to commit identity fraud. Phishing is perhaps the most obvious form of impersonation: a scammer who contacts you pretending to be a trusted entity and asks for money or information.
But there are other varieties. Fake social media accounts are a growing challenge; used to distribute scam links and offers that are too good to be true. And fake mobile apps can masquerade as legitimate apps to collect personal information, flood your screen with ads, or sign you up for premium services.
Impersonation scams are also evolving. According to the FTC, they are increasingly blurring channels and techniques, so that “a fake Amazon employee could transfer you to a fake bank or even a fake FBI or FTC employee for fake help.”
How to spot the scammers
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just the elderly who are at risk of impersonation scams. Research in Great Britain showed that people under the age of 35 are more likely to be targeted and become victims of this type of fraud. Therefore, keep these warning signs in mind:
- Requests for money: A message via email, text, or DM from someone pretending to be a close family member or contact. They will apply for urgent financial assistance because of some excuse, such as being stranded abroad or needing medical attention. Fraudsters can hijack legitimate social media and email accounts to make it appear as if it is really your friend/family member contacting you.
- Remote access: Tech support fraud involves an official from a technology company, telecom company, or other legitimate-seeming organization needing access to your computer for a fabricated reason, such as if it has been compromised by malware.
- Access your account: a cop whether a government official contacts you out of the blue claiming there is money in your account should be analyzed as part of an investigation into money laundering, drug smuggling, or other serious crime. They offer to ‘keep it safe’ by moving it somewhere else.
- Busy: The person on the other end of the phone, email, text, or social media is pressuring you to act immediately. They will try to panic you into making a decision without thinking, such as sending money to a friend in danger or urgently transferring it to a government official. It’s a classic social engineering technique – sometimes even carried out in person or with a potentially terrifying twist thanks to AI tools that can be co-opted to commit virtual kidnapping fraud.
- Fake couriers collecting money: An official offers to send a courier to your home address under various false pretenses to collect cash, cards, valuables or PIN numbers, for example to help your relative out of trouble or to make a dodgy payment with your bank card to solve.
- Account security alerts: These fake alerts often require you to ‘confirm’ your details first – another way for scammers to get your personal and financial information.
- Unusual messages: Phishing emails often contain inconsistencies that mark them as impersonation fraud. Scammers try to spoof the display name to pretend to be the sender. But by hovering over the name, you’ll see the masked email address underneath, which may look unofficial. However, keep in mind that scammers can also hijack legitimate email accounts and use caller ID to make it harder to tell real from fake.
- False delivery problems: Legitimate-looking postal/logistics companies will require you to pay a small fee or hand over bank details to enable safe delivery of your non-existent package. In other scenarios, fraudsters will pose as a known delivery service and alert you to ‘issues’ with your package.
- Gift cards: You will be asked to pay fines or one-time fees if you purchase valuable items or gift cards. The scammer wants you to do this instead of a bank transfer as this is much harder to trace.
- Fake subscription renewals: This may require you to connect the scammer to your computer to renew your subscription or process a non-existent refund.
- Fictitious competitions or discounts: You will need to pay a small ‘fee’ to claim them. Obviously, there is no reward or discount as this is just a variation of advance fee fraud.
- Unusual language: Another telltale sign of phishing attempts can be poor grammar and spelling, or inaccurate language in messages. However, this is becoming less common as fraudsters use generative AI to create their fake messages.
Stay vigilant
Keep in mind that impersonation scams are constantly evolving, so the above is by no means an exhaustive list. The next evolution in such scams comes thanks to AI-powered deepfakes, which can imitate the voice or even appearance of a trusted individual. These are already cheating office workers to transfer large amounts of company funds to accounts controlled by cybercriminals. And the technology is being used pretend to be trusted people on social media to entice followers into hasty investments. As deepfakes become cheaper and more accessible, they can also be used in smaller-scale fraud.
With any impersonation fraud, the key is: be skeptical, slow down, and independently verify that they are who they say they are. Do this by contacting the organization or individual directly. Do not respond to an email or phone number listed in the first message. And never hand over money or personal information unless you have confirmed the contact is legitimate.
