FTC Consumer Protection Data Spotlight

The Federal Trade Commission has issued its second Consumer Protection Data Spotlight, which reports on the agency's examination of complaints about family and friend imposter scams. These scammers often call seniors claiming to be a grandchild. The Commission is seeing an increase in the number of people ages 70 and over who say they sent cash in response to this particular scam – one in four said they mailed cash in 2018, compared to one in fourteen the prior year. In about half of these types of complaints, the scammer said they were in jail or some other legal trouble and in need of money to get out of trouble. The FTC urges those who might get such a call to not act right away. Instead, the FTC recommends calling the family member or friend using a known number, or checking out the request with someone else in their family or a mutual friend.