Top 10 Federal Trade Commission Scam Alert Blog Posts of 2015
By Alvaro Puig, Federal Trade Commission // January 2, 2016
IRS imposter call top scam of 2015
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – It’s time to dust off the red carpet—actually, it’s more of a government-issued gray, but Federal Trade Commission is dusting it off nonetheless—to bring you their top 10 consumer blog posts of 2015.
10. Do those incessant, unwanted phone calls and text messages drive you bonkers? You’re not alone. And this blog post gave you tips to stop them.
9. We charged that TracFone Wireless’ promises of unlimited datawere off-trac and customers didn’t get what they paid for. If you’re one of them, you may have been eligible for a refund.
8. Scammers targeted real caregivers— like babysitters and nannies—with really fake checks.
7. Our top 5 questions about unwanted calls come in at number 7 in this year-end top 10 countdown.
6. June brought us the anticipation of lazy summer days and jaunts to the beach or lake. It also brought news of an OPM data breachand tips on what to do.
5. We know scammers strike while the iron is hot. This blog told you how to tell if that email about the OPM data breach is legit or a phishing scam.
4. Ever gotten a call from a scammer pretending to be from the IRS? So have we. Hang up, then report ‘em to the FTC.
3. During Tax Identity Awareness week, we shared a cool infographicthat tells you how IRS imposter scams work and what to do about them.
2. If you get a call from your own phone number, you might think there’s some sort of witchcraft going on. Thankfully, we told you that it’s probably a scammer making an illegal robocall. You can open your eyes now!
1. And the top blog post of the year told of my colleague who got her very own IRS imposter call and this bogus message: “Hello, we have been trying to reach you. This call is officially a final notice from the IRS, Internal Revenue Service. The reason of this call is to inform you that IRS is filing a lawsuit against you.”
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