Fighting Imposter Scams

Fighting Imposter Scams

Impostor scams are among the fastest-growing scams in the country. In these scams, con artists pretend to be IRS agents, debt collectors, police or even grandchildren of their intended victims. These convincing scams have cost victims thousands of dollars apiece.

Over the last year, scammers have begun asking victims to pay them with iTunes gift cards. No legitimate government agency accepts payment in iTunes cards.

 

Cuyahoga County’s Department of Consumer Affairs is teaming up with Giant Eagle and Dave’s Markets in a pilot program that places alerts about these scams on gift card sales racks. These signs alert potential victims to impostor scams at the moment they most need to see a warning: When they are still under the scammer’s spell, but before they’ve lost money to a scam.

 

Cuyahoga County applauds Giant Eagle and Dave’s for participating in this pilot program. We encourage other stores who sell iTunes gift cards to join this effort. You can get involved, too, by learning about impostor scams and warning the people you care about.