You receive an email that pretends to be from a company, bank,

or government agency, and they are asking you to enter or confirm your personal information.

You receive an email or phone call saying you won a prize, lottery, or gift and you only have to pay a “small fee” to claim it or cover “handling costs”.

You sell something online or through a local listing, but you are paid

with phony checks or asked to wire money to the buyer.

A scammer contacts you and claims you owe money on a

debt or the scammer offers to recover money lost in a previous scam.

False promises of business or personal loans, even if credit is

bad, for a fee upfront. Or a scam that promises to repair your credit for a fee.

Scammers claim to offer technical support for computer problems and charge a fee to fix non-existent problems.

A research firm offers to conduct a customized search for scholarships or grants for a fee, but they provide a worthless list or nothing.

Fake profiles of scammers posing as attractive men and women claiming they need money to help with an emergency. This is also referred to as “catfishing”. Generally, they are pretending to be out of the country on a business trip and need money to get home. In some cases, they may even live in a foreign country and claim to need help to get back to the United States.

Did you ever get a “friend request” on Facebook from someone you already thought was your “friend”? If you hit accept on the new request, you may have just friended a scammer. Con artists nurture online relationships to build trust and convince their victims to send money.

Business advertises a product at a low price, but offers a more expensive product

when you go to buy it. The lower-priced item never existed; it was just used to “bait” you.

Making false claims when filing bankruptcy.

Also known as a con, scam, swindle, grift, bunko, flim flam, or scheme. An attempt to swindle you by gaining your confidence. “Con artists” will try to appeal to

your greed, your good nature, your generosity, or your willingness to take a risk.

Taking money from your employer that is not yours; may range from small amounts to large amounts.

Creating fake documents and signatures.

Making false claims or statements in advertising to persuade you to buy a certain

product.

Requesting payment from someone for a product or service without fulfilling the deal; may include fake renewal notices or other seemingly legitimate services.

Fake insurance claims to get money from an

insurance company that is not warranted.

Artificially inflating the price of a stock with false and misleading statements. The

goal is to sell stock that has little value at a high price.

Selling products such as fake or “quack” medicines; making false promises about

health-related products.

Stealing money or getting other benefits by pretending to be someone else.

Setting up a company for fraudulent purposes. It appears to be a legitimate business and takes money from investors or customers, but is just a scheme.

Marrying someone for money so they can become a citizen of the United States. In this case, you can spend time in prison for participating in the scheme and the immigrant will be deported.

Promises investors abnormally high profits from the money they “invest” in the plan. The system is doomed to collapse because there are little or no underlying earnings from the money received by the promoter. Also known as a Pyramid Scheme.

Is fraud a crime?

There are several steps you can take to reduce the potential of being a victim of consumer fraud, including:

If you are the victim of fraud in Oklahoma, the best place to start is by:

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

They simply rummage through your trash looking for bills or other papers

with your personal information on it.

They steal credit card or debit card numbers with a special device attached to the

machine where you slide your card. Most skimmers are placed on ATMs or on gas station pumps, especially in locations that are not visible to others or monitored by a camera.

They pretend to be your bank, the IRS, or some other organization and send you an email, a text, or a letter (or even call you on the phone) asking for personal information.

They steal billfolds, purses, and even mail from your mailbox (bank statements, credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, or tax information – anything with your personal information). They may also take personnel records or bribe employees, who have access, to give them your information.

They may illegally gain access to your computer or another computer system, including schools, credit card companies, and other places that maintain your personal information. (Note: Also, beware of someone hacking into your computer or sending a pop-up warning you about viruses on your system; chances are they are scamming you.)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends the following actions be taken immediately if you are a victim of identity theft.

The 3 credit reporting agencies are:

Victims of identity theft often have the following negative things happen:

It is highly recommended to create strong passwords that are long using special characters (*#@!$) to help reduce the risk of cyber fraud.

Which one is the strongest password?

It's important to use common sense and keep your identity and financial information private. Use extreme discretion on who you trust to give this information to. Do your research and make sure the company or individuals involved are trustworthy.

Approximately how many U.S. residents have their identities stolen each year?