Scam Awareness

Online Shopping Scams Affect 1 in 3 Americans — Here’s How to Avoid Them Buying things online is convenient, but it comes with risks that are easy to overlook. A November 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center found that about 1 in 3 Americans say they experienced an online shopping scam. The number is a reminder that fraudulent sellers, phishing emails, and fake deals are not rare events. With major shopping occasions like Mother’s Day and Black Friday approaching, the risk typically increases as scammers try to take advantage of people looking for gifts or bargains. ...

Social Media Scams Are Surging: How to Spot and Stop Fraud Before You Lose Money If you spend any time on social media, you’ve probably seen an ad for a deal that looks too good to be true, a message from a friend asking you to “verify your account,” or a post promising huge returns on a cryptocurrency investment. These aren’t just annoyances—they’re part of a wave of fraud that is now costing Americans billions of dollars each year. ...

Gift Card Scams Are on the Rise: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Money Earlier this month, Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued an alert warning District of Columbia residents about a surge in gift card scams. The advisory, published by the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, outlines how scammers trick people into buying gift cards and handing over the codes—often draining the funds within minutes. While the alert is aimed at D.C. residents, the tactics described are used nationwide, and the advice applies wherever you live. ...

Gift Card Scams Are Still Thriving: What the Latest Consumer Alert Means for You If you’ve ever been asked to buy a gift card to pay a bill, cover a debt, or secure a prize, you’ve likely encountered one of the most persistent frauds in modern consumer life. Gift card scams continue to drain bank accounts across the country, and authorities are still urging the public to stay alert. ...

Gift Card Scams: How to Spot and Avoid Them — Advice from Consumer Alert Experts Gift cards make convenient presents, but they also make perfect cover for fraud. Scammers have long favored them because once the numbers on the back are shared, the money is nearly impossible to recover. Recent alerts from the District of Columbia’s Attorney General and other state consumer offices underscore that this threat is not going away. Whether you live in Washington, D.C., or anywhere else in the country, knowing how these scams work could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. ...

Gift Card Scams Are on the Rise: What You Need to Know to Avoid Being Tricked Intro Gift cards are a convenient present, but they’ve also become a favorite tool for scammers. On December 15, 2025, Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued an alert warning District residents about a surge in gift card scams. While the alert targets local consumers, the tactics and takeaways apply nationwide. If you receive an unexpected call, text, or email demanding payment via a gift card, it’s almost certainly a scam. ...

How to Spot and Avoid Gift Card Scams: A New Alert from D.C.’s Attorney General In mid-December 2025, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued a consumer alert warning District residents about a surge in gift card scams. The alert is short, but it underscores a problem that drains hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans every year. The tactics scammers use are remarkably consistent—and once you know them, they become much easier to spot. ...

Gift Card Scams: What to Watch For and How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever received an urgent phone call demanding payment with a gift card, you’re not imagining things—it’s a hallmark of one of the most persistent consumer frauds today. Gift card scams have grown so common that consumer protection agencies across the country regularly issue warnings. In December 2025, Washington D.C.’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb released an alert specifically about these schemes, reminding residents—and by extension, all consumers—that gift cards are meant for giving, not for paying bills or debts. ...

Gift Card Scams Are Surging: Here’s How to Spot and Stop Them Gift cards make convenient presents, but they’ve also become a favorite tool for scammers. In December 2025, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued an alert warning District residents about a rise in gift card fraud. The warning isn’t just local—gift card scams are one of the most common types of payment fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) year after year. If you’ve ever received an urgent call, email, or text asking you to buy gift cards for payment, you need to know the red flags. ...

Gift Card Scams: How to Spot Them and What to Do If someone you don’t know calls, emails, or texts you and demands payment with a gift card, it is a scam. No legitimate company, government agency, or utility will ever ask you to buy a gift card and read them the numbers on the back. ...