小心这些 最近的诈骗

保护自己, it’s important to be familiar with trending 诈骗 — keep reading to learn about the latest.

Never share your online banking 用户ID or password. Patelco will NEVER contact you 和 ask for it — 和 there’s no reason anyone else needs it, ever.”

报税季节 诈骗

It’s tax season — 和 your accountant 和 the IRS aren’t the only ones with an eye on your taxes. 骗子也在伺机而动! This sounds scary, but you can protect yourself by learning about common tax season 诈骗. 以下是你要寻找的:

网络钓鱼

Scammers pretend to be tax professionals (or the IRS) 和 send emails or text messages with links. Don’t click on links sent by people you don’t know.

If you get a tax email you believe is 欺诈ulent, forward it to phishing@irs.政府.

礼品卡诈骗

Gift cards remain a popular way for scammers to steal because they’re like cash: once someone has the gift card information, it’s nearly impossible to get back. Scammers are calling claiming to be the IRS, reaching out to collect back taxes or fines. They’ll ask you to buy gift cards 和 then take the card information for themselves.

挂断电话 举报诈骗 — the IRS will never ask for payment via gift card.

退换诱饵

If criminals have your sensitive personal information, such as Social Security number or tax forms they stole from the mail, they may file a 欺诈ulent return on your behalf. 一旦资金打到你的账户, the scammers will impersonate someone from the IRS 和 call you dem和ing the return of the money. They will ask you to deposit it into a different account or send a check to an address.

If you receive an unexpected tax bill or refund, file a 向联邦贸易委员会投诉，与国税局联系 800.908.4490 和 询问主要的信用机构 to put a “欺诈 alert” on your file.

不诚实的报税人

Unfortunately, there are scam artists posing as tax professionals. They offer to do your taxes, collect a fee upfront, 和 then ghost you. Only hire professionals with a valid license – 点击这里上网查询.

There’re also dishonest tax preparers inflating your tax return to pocket some of the refund. Criminal tax preparers will inaccurately file your taxes in order to receive a higher refund. They will pocket some of the refund for themselves. 如果你正在使用报税员, always double check their work 和 the amount they received from your tax filing.

学生贷款诈骗

Americans lost an astounding $5 billion to student loan 欺诈 in 2022.¹ As students graduate high school 和 look to college in the fall, scammers are busier than ever. And if you’re one of the millions of Americans with existing student loans, beware that scammers are also looking to target you regarding relief 和 refinancing.

Many of the 诈骗 – for both new loans 和 for relief or consolidation of existing loans – involve payment of fees up front. Other scammers pose as organizations simply to steal your personal information.

Here’s four ways to protect yourself from student loan 诈骗:

• 注意收费. 虽然借款费用存在, they are included in the principal of legitimate loans, 和 will come up when you take the loan out. If someone is asking you to pay fees now, 自掏腰包, 为了给你的贷款再融资, 进行新的贷款, 偿还现有贷款, 申请债务减免, 或填写FAFSA表格, 可能是个骗子.


• Don’t give out your Federal 学生 Aid (FSA) ID or password. No one should be asking you for your FSA ID 和 password. You will use it to log in to legitimate 政府ernment websites (like http://studentaid.gov/), but if someone is asking you for it on the phone, 通过文本, 通过电子邮件, 或者亲自去, 你在和一个骗子打交道. Be cautious when revealing other private information.


• 抵制立即采取行动的压力. Most student loan 诈骗 – 和 many 诈骗 in general – have something in common: pressure to act immediately.


• 做好调查. Speaking of being pressured to act immediately, one reason for this is that scammers don’t want you to take the time to research the name of their company or organization. Many scammers have created sophisticated, professional-looking websites 和 social media profiles. But don’t trust a website or social media profile by itself.


• Instead, research any person or business who contacts you. A simple search engine search of their name plus “reviews” or “scam” may reveal whether you’re dealing with a legitimate organization or not. 另外, don’t accept as accurate any official-sounding language like “partner of the Department of 教育” or “p和emic grant.”

The bottom line: if someone reaches out to you about a student loan, or if you see an advertisement on social media, do your research 和 think carefully before providing personal information or money.

电子支付 欺诈

Our Patelco members have told us how much they love digital payments (like Venmo, 贝宝, 和 other popular platforms) for being an easy 和 secure way to send money to people they know 和 trust. But because scammers may pose as people or businesses you know, it’s important to protect yourself — 和 your money.

Whether you’ve used digital payments before or are new to it, follow these tips to help you pay it safe.

• Only use digital payments to send money to people you know 和 trust
• Never share your online banking 用户ID or password. Patelco will NEVER contact you 和 ask for it — 和 there’s no reason anyone else needs it, ever.
• Never do a “test” transfer with any third-party payment service. Recent 欺诈 uses someone pretending to be from Patelco asking you to do a “test” transaction or transfer. Patelco will NEVER ask you to do a test transfer, ever.
• Never use digital payment to make utility bill or credit card payments. A scammer may pretend to be a utility company or wireless carrier asking you to send a payment with a digital platform. Most digital payment platforms cannot currently be used to pay utility or credit card bills.
• Don’t send money back to someone who “accidentally” sent you money via digital payment. Scammers will send money from stolen accounts 和 then ask the recipient to send the money back — but the money sent back is your real money, while the money that you “accidentally” received is stolen.

If someone reaches out to you 和 says that they sent you money accidentally, tell them to reach out to their bank or credit union to resolve it. 永远不要把钱还给他们.

社交媒体艺术家 诈骗

Fraudsters are increasingly active on social media. If someone you don’t know contacts you on Instagram or another platform 和 offers to pay you, the money is probably coming from a stolen financial account, especially if they ask you to transfer part of the payment back to them (or to another person). If the true owner of the stolen account reports the loss, you may be on the hook for the funds deposited into your account, plus whatever amount you send to the scammer, 哪些是不可恢复的. Be wary of Instagram 和 social media 诈骗 like these:

• 艺术家骗局: A so-called artist will DM you to say one of your photos inspired them 和 they want permission to create art based on your photo. The scammer will claim to work for a wealthy client whose assistant will use a payment app like Venmo to pay you. 问题? They’ll want you to send them a cut from the client’s payment. The funds you receive will be stolen – but the money you send will be deducted from your own account.
• 网红骗局: With lots of Instagram followers 和 likes, some influencer accounts may seem incredibly popular — but they’re only there to deceive you. If an account features an eye-catching profile picture 和 promotes investment opportunities or financial services, it’s probably fake or hijacked by scammers.
• 赞助骗局: Instead of pretending to be an influencer, some 欺诈sters will imitate legitimate br和s in hopes of scamming you. Watch for DMs from fake br和 accounts, offers to pay you for advertisements, or the chance to sign up as an ambassador — it’s just another attempt at stealing your personal information or money.

假收债人 诈骗

In this scam, 欺诈sters threaten legal action to pressure you to pay a fake debt. 2022年末, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) returned more than $1 million to victims of just such 诈骗.

保护自己 from similar 诈骗:

• 了解你的财务状况. Keep records of past 和 current debts, so you won’t get fooled by a fake debt.
• 申请“债务确认信”.” This requires the debt collection agency to prove they’re legally collecting a debt you owe.
• 常规的ly review your credit report so you stay aware of the status of all your accounts.
• Know your rights, including those covered under the Fair 债务 Collection Practices Act.

浪漫 诈骗

It’s easy to fall for a romance scam set up on a dating app or social media. The 欺诈ster creates a fake profile to start sending sweet messages 和 big proclamations to their target. Once they have your trust 和 affection, the asks begin. They’ll ask for money to come see you (but won’t actually come), 应付意外开支, 或者家里有急事. 你会得到什么回报? 较低的账户余额.

Here’s how to protect yourself if you think you’re dealing with a romance scammer:

• 立即停止通讯.
• Don’t send money or gifts to anyone you haven’t met in person.
• Do a reverse image search of their profile image using a search engine. Is it a stock image or a photo stolen from somewhere else?
• Never send revealing photos of yourself — these can be used for blackmail.
• Talk to your trusted friends or family about your new love interest. 他们有顾虑吗??

Want to learn more about the different types of romance 诈骗, 和 how to identify 和 avoid them? Watch a video with one of our Patelco experts below!