How to Report Fraud & Scams: A step-by-step Video

There are all sorts of scams and fraudulent schemes out there, targeted at different people. But if you’re a single mom, you may be a particularly frequent target. That’s because scammers often consider single moms to be an easy mark: we may be more likely to be sympathetic to their story, or less likely to have the time or resources to fight back. So it’s important to know how to report fraud and scams if they happen to you. Here are some tips on what to do.

You can watch the video or read below on how to report a scam or fraud so you can protect yourself in the short-term and protect your friends, family & community in the long-term.

I’m going to explain how to report a scam or fraud to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) so it is super simple for you.

Scams & Fraud are on the Rise

In 2021, there were 5.1 million reports of fraud and scams. Of those reports filed, the 2^nd most reported fraud was imposter scams. That is someone pretending to be someone they are not.

If you’re like me, you like to get alerts to the important accounts that matter to you. You want to be alerted to your account for different reasons. Some examples, I like to receive alerts from are my checking or savings account, my credit card and PayPal.

We can even sign up for text alerts from Amazon to know the shipping status and when our packages will arrive. Check out the Amazon Scam so you can recognize it and report it.

I received an imposter scam just last week. They were imposing as PayPal. So I am going to explain the steps I took to check my account and then report the fraud.

Your first step is to check your account that is identified as an alert. Don’t call the number just because it says to do so. I logged into my PayPal account to make sure there were no charges from Wish.com.

This can be much easier said than done, especially, as a single mom, you are so busy. When an alert comes across you know it needs to be taken care of immediately. We typically trust text messages and aren’t used to being scammed by text.

If you need help with an alert that come across your phone, I highly recommend getting in touch with someone you know. That could be a financial coach or trusted person that can help you. Do not trust somebody that is on the other end of the line. Even if they are push or super sweet.

After verifying I did not have a charge on my PayPal account from Wish.com in the amount of $450. I did call the phone number to see what this scam was all about so I could help others. Even though I didn’t lose any money, I am still reporting it to help others.

How to Report Fraud & Scams

Go to reportfraud.ftc.gov. Then click on “Report Now”.

Review all the common problems and check the one that best fits your situation! Looks like there are a lot of scams happening!

Okay, So my scam was and imposter scam. An imposter is someone pretending to be someone else.

Next, I will check the box “well known or trusted business”, because it was PayPal.

Here are some of the additional questions you will answer:

• Did this Scammer offered to fix a problem with your computer? In my case, yes. He wanted me to download the app “AnyDesk” so he could “block the hackers from my phone”.
• Did you send a scheme or payment of any kind? No.
• Does the Scammer ask you to pay or send money? No, because I hung up on him because I knew it was a scam.
• How did you first learn about the scam? I received a text message.
• When did you encounter the scam? I received a text message on 6/10/22
• Which company did they pretend to be? PayPal
• Are you filling this report out for someone else? No. I was filling it out for myself.
• Then fill in your name, address, city, state, zip, your phone number and email.
• Are you filling this out on behalf of your small business organization? No.

And then click on submit. It’s that easy.

So, when you get scammed, or think “this is a scam” protect other people by reporting the scam to reportfraud.ftc.gov. even if you didn’t lose money.