As stated in my March 14th blog this year, impostor scams was named the # 1 type of fraud in 2016, according to  the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel project . Fraudsters have become more partial to these type schemes because they take minimal effort, the likelihood of getting caught is marginal and they are extremely lucrative. The video below details the scenario of a case I worked on last year involving an email account compromise. FraudSense with Dorothy video segment 5:   Scammed: I sent the down payment for my new house to a crook The couple in the video were unable to close on their house because due to an email impostor scam, they wired their $25,000 down payment to a crook. Bad actors are extremely clever.  Equipped with enough background information on their victims, they skillfully orchestrate believable email messages sent from the hacked or spoofed email accounts of the victim's true acquaintances.  Th...

Top 3 Employment Scam Indicators (Click to play FraudSense with Dorothy video) Whether you’re a college student looking for a job with flexible work hours, a new graduate interested in entering the workforce fulltime, a stay-at-home parent with small children, a retiree or a disabled person wanting to stay active or a fulltime worker seeking a way to supplement your current income, there are scores of people searching for employment.   Since we live in an age of digital technology most job searches involve the Internet.   While legitimate employers post ads on the Internet, so do fraudsters.   Thus, it’s vitally important that job seekers are aware that employment scams exist and learn how to recognize them.   Employment fraud is currently so prevalent that on January 28, 2017 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a Public Service Announcement alerting citizens about the overwhelming amount of college students being specifically targeted by t...

Are you single and looking? If so, avoid being catfished by viewing this video segment of my Top 5 Romance Scam Red Flags.

Video segment 2 of FraudSense with Dorothy, my YouTube Channel

Watch the video linked below to learn basic fraud education & prevention tips about sweepstakes scams. FraudSense with Dorothy YouTube Video

By Dorothy Riggs, CFE During my years in customer service and as a fraud investigator I’ve conducted quite a few interviews.  From those interactions I’ve gathered some significant takeaways that alone prove neither guilt nor innocence.  However, they’ve proven to be helpful hints of guidance in the right direction regarding an individual’s involvement in questionable activity.

By Dorothy Riggs, CFE Reportedly, the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel project tallied 3 million consumer complaints received in 2016.   Regarding consumer fraud, identity theft has lost its #1 position.   Impostor fraud has taken the lead.   Last year victims lost $744.5 million collectively to impostor fraud schemes. What is Impostor Fraud? Impostor fraud involves fraudsters impersonating someone else in order to carry out a fraud scheme.   They often contact consumers pretending to be family members, law enforcement, representatives of government agencies, bill collectors and so on.