United Nations Anti-Fraud Center

United Nations Anti-Fraud Center

United Nations Anti-Fraud Center

In-person scams

Website scams

Scammers can pretend to be anyone online to deceive you into trusting them. United States lost $74 million to online scams last year. Scammers create fake websites to look like well-known brands. They impersonate famous people and make it look like they recommend the product or service. They use fake reviews to make you trust them. Advertising banners or pop-up windows that contain fake warnings or error messages can pressure you into acting.

Social media scams

Be suspicious of anyone who contacts you out of the blue on social media – scams losses are on the rise here. United States reported losses of $80.2 million to social media scams last year – up 43% on the year before. Scammers set up fake profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps. They pretend to be from the government, a real business, employer, investment firm, or even a friend, family member or romantic interest. They may: use the same logo of the real organisation or photo of the person they are pretending to be to make the scam harder to spot. impersonate famous people to 'recommend' goods or services create fake identities to befriend you and win your trust. Scammers can also learn a lot about you from details you share on your social media accounts. They create quizzes or posts designed to deceive you into sharing personal information. They use this information to guess your account passwords or target you with other scams.

Email scams

Scam emails look like the real thing, but watch out for links and attachments designed to steal your money or information. Australians lost $77 million to email scams last year. Scammers send 'urgent' emails pretending to be from the government, law enforcement and businesses. They use the same logo and a similar email address as the real organisation. Scammers can also copy or 'spoof' the email address of an organisation or business to make the scam email look more real.

Phone scams

Scam calls are more than annoying - they cost Australians $141 million in losses last year. 1 in 3 reported scams happen by phone. Scammers call, claiming to be from well-known organisations. This includes government organisations, law enforcement, investment and law firms, banks, telecommunication providers. They make it sound urgent to get to you act quickly. They may try to convince you to give them your personal or bank account details, or remote access to your computer. The caller may already have some details about you, such as your name or address.

Text or SMS scams

Scam messages look like they are from the government, businesses you deal with or even your own family or friends to try to catch you out. Text or SMS was the most reported contact method for scams last year. Scam messages sound urgent to get you to act quickly. They often have a link which will take you to a scam website. Scammers can steal any personal information entered on these scam websites and use it to take your money or commit fraud in your name. To make these message look real, scammers spoof (copy) the phone number and sender ID of businesses or people you know. Scam messages can even appear in the same message chain as real messages from the organisation, making them even harder to spot.

Disclaimer: Anti-Fraud League's initial consultation, investigation, and recovery program is free of charge to you. Our fees are based on the percentage of funds successfully recovered and will vary depending on the complexity of the case and the amount recovered.Anti-Fraud League does not provide any financial investment or advice. For UK residents only, Action Refund does not assist consumers with complaints about mis-sold investment products (e.g. CFDs) purchased from firms regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and/or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).Due to the involvement of ethical hackers in recovering funds from scams, which may not align with the conventional practices of some countries, Anti-Fraud League frequently changes its domain name to avoid unnecessary complications.

Ways scammers reach you - Fangyuan's Site

In-person scams

Some scams take place in person. Scammers may knock on your door or approach you in public and ask you to do something. They might: ask for upfront payment for goods and services pressure you into completing a survey to get your personal details ask for donations to a ‘charity’.

Website scams

Social media scams

Email scams

Phone scams

Text or SMS scams

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