This latest fraud scam is targeting past scam victims and offering fraudulent refunds…
In the past, there was a fraud scam going around that involved the cyber criminals portraying themselves as the Federal Trade Commission. This scam has been resolved. However, the hackers are switching their approach to target those scam victims with a phishing scam offering a “refund”. Unfortunately, this casts doubt on all FTC refunds. So, here is what you need to know.
First, if you were a victim of the initial fraud scam, please know this “refund” is being offered by the cyber criminals, NOT the FTC. Second, if you are expecting a refund from the FTC, you may check the status of this refund at FTC.gov. Do not, and I repeat do NOT, use the link or attachment provided in an email.
If you receive an email from an official-looking sender, it can be quite tempting to see what this “refund” is about. However, it is best practice to proceed with caution. Look up the sender’s phone number and call them to inquire the validity of the email. Do not open any links or attachment until confirming the authenticity of the email.
It is important you get the sender’s phone number from an alternate source, and don’t use what is in the email. Why? Because if it’s a fake, the phone number is likely the scammer.
