As technology makes our world faster, smarter and more efficient, scammers are constantly keeping pace alongside this progress, evolving their methods to slip through the cracks.
With fraudsters employing increasingly complicated tactics, it’s easier for consumers to fall prey to these schemes.
More than
1.26M
In the U.K., fraudsters were responsible for nearly 1.26 million thefts during the first half of 2023 — the equivalent of one every 12 seconds1
2.6M
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission reported that 2.6 million fraud reports were filed last year2
Most of these scams fall under the umbrella of social engineering, which is the use of deception and emotional manipulation to influence someone else’s behavior. In the digital world, cybercriminals use social engineering tactics to trick people into revealing confidential information or taking actions that can harm them or their employers financially.
Protecting consumers and businesses is paramount, and it starts with education.
To help people recognize the red flags, we’ve highlighted three common social engineering scams below.
Impostor fraud
Romance or honeypot scams
How businesses can protect consumers
This is a type of scam where perpetrators deceive individuals by posing as someone else — perhaps a government official, a financial institution, a friend, a family member or even a romantic partner. Whatever guise the impostor takes, the goal is the same: to gain the victim’s trust, obtain their personal identification details and steal their funds. Impostor fraud can take various forms, including emails, phone calls and text messages.
A romance or honeypot scam is when criminals create realistic profiles on dating apps, websites or social media platforms and feign romantic interest in potential victims. Dangling the promise of a relationship, they ask for money, push fraudulent investment or cryptocurrency schemes or request personal details to access financial accounts. Romance scammers often work around dating site safeguards by proposing a move to texts or emails soon after conversations begin.
Consumers are on the front lines of scam attacks, so it’s imperative to make everyone aware of the signs of a scam. Let consumers know that if they clicked on a phishing link or downloaded dangerous software, they should immediately disconnect from the internet.
They should also contact their bank and any other businesses that manage their financial accounts. Changing usernames and passwords and enabling multifactor authentication for digital interactions are also important safeguards.
Remember the “Nigerian prince” emails of the 1990s? Today’s phishing tactics are like that, only much more sophisticated, complex and harder to spot. Scammers can use AI to create increasingly convincing emails, meant to provoke a strong reaction and threaten recipients to respond urgently, before they have time to think clearly. Phishing emails often ask the victim to click on a link or download an attachment, which in turn triggers a computer virus or malware.
We’re building on our long-standing partnership with Verizon to block communications from scammers and are working with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance to provide people with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and their loved ones from scams.
Ultimately, both technology and education are key to stopping scams and protecting more consumers.
Three common scams and how to spot them
EVOLUTION OF FRAUD
Phishing
Mastercard recently announced Scam Protect, which brings together a suite of AI-powered identity and behavioral capabilities, industry collaborations and educational initiatives, to mitigate the rise of scams.
Learn more about Scam Protect
Explore
1. https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/news-and-insight/press-release/criminals-steal-over-half-billion-pounds-and-nearly-80-cent-app
2. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/02/nationwide-fraud-losses-top-10-billion-2023-ftc-steps-efforts-protect-public
Three common scams and how to spot them
EVOLUTION OF FRAUD
Ultimately, both technology and education are key to stopping scams and protecting more consumers.