nfortunately, scammers take advantage of people’s heightened emotional state following disasters, and the Vermont Consumer Assistance Program wants you to be aware of targeted disaster relief scams to avoid while our communities recover from the flooding.
Category: Business
Information that is relevant to businesses primarily, whether as the consumer in a transaction, or for resource purposes.
Vermont Business Imposter Email Scams Are on the Rise
Scammers are impersonating employees or familiar business representatives’ emails and contacting company bookkeepers and office administrators asking them to change bank account information, direct deposit information, or asking them to write checks. By impersonating an employee’s email address or creating a fake personal email for the employee, scammers can steal money from businesses and steal paychecks from employees. Vermont businesses and non-profits should always verify email addresses and speak directly with an employee or business representative in person or via phone when sending money or changing payment information.
TOP 10 SCAMS OF 2021 RELEASED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
Reports of scams to the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) totaled 5,154 in 2021, up just slightly from the previous year’s 5,021 reports. Two variations of the Computer Tech Support scam and the Online Listing scam claimed the number one, three, and seven spots respectively on CAP’s list of top ten scams in 2021, covering nearly a quarter of the total reports filed by Vermonters.
Introducing: Business Imposter Email Scam Prevention Videos
Businesses get scammed by imposters, too. Whether an email system is hacked and the scammer takes control to send out the transfer request, or a scammer creates a fake account email with all the boss’ credentials, these emails appear as though they are coming from a legitimate source within the business. There are countless ways in which scammers can infiltrate business systems. Businesses can never be too cautious in protecting themselves and their customers from scams. In an effort to help businesses prevent scams from derailing operations, we produced the Avoiding the Business Imposter Email Scam videos and toolkit, which includes scam warnings and actual steps that businesses can take to verify funds transfer requests.
Beware of the Electricity Cut Off Scam
By Crystal Baldwin and Sara Spencer “Your electricity will be shut off, if you don’t pay.” Imagine receiving this message in the middle of your work day while relying on electricity to serve your customers. Or, maybe the message comes into your home while every single person is using an electronic device for work or… Continue reading Beware of the Electricity Cut Off Scam