Security Nudge. Beware Of Scammers Impersonating Well-Known Brands. Sponsored By CybSafe.

Cybercrime Magazine Podcast

Scammers impersonate Best Buy, Geek Squad, Amazon, and PayPal brands more than any others, a new analysis by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has revealed. In analyzing complaints submitted by consumers during 2023, the government consumer protection agency found that it received around 52,000 reports – or 1000 per week – of scammers impersonating the Best Buy or Geek Squad brands. Consumers lost $15 million to those scams, but took even more – $60 million – in around 7000 scams impersonating Microsoft, and $49 million in scams where they pretended to be from Publishers Clearing House. The other most frequently copied companies included NortonLifelock, Apple, ComcastXFinity, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. If you receive messages purporting to be from any of these organizations demanding cryptocurrency, transfers via PayPal, CashApp, or Zelle; gift cards from the likes of Apple and Target; or any other unexpected request; treat it as a scam until you can very independently on the company’s correct website. The 60-second "Security Nudge" is brought to you by CybSafe, developers of the Human Risk Management Platform. Learn more at https://cybsafe.com