HAVE YOU BEEN SCAMMED?
- botting11
- Jan 6, 2023
- 2 min read

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM OF A FRAUD
If you have had a problem with a local organization, your contact should be to your local police department or sheriff. There may be a fraud division you can work with in those organizations. Once you have a report, if the police are unable to help, you may contact the county district attorney or the state attorney general who will have a fraud division.
GENERAL FEDERAL FRAUD REPORTING-
The most general federal government agency set up to investigate fraud is the Federal Trade Commission. Complaints filed at reportfraud.ftc.gov are routed to the appropriate law enforcement or government entity to investigate. It has been my experience that if the scam has already been reported and the culprits are being watched, you may get your money back. If they are not already being watched, the money will likely be gone by the time the culprits are arrested.
INTERNET OR MEDICARE SCAM -
The FBI will take complaints regarding internet or Medicare scams at the website ic3.gov. Complaints can also be made at a local FBI office.
ELDER ABUSE –
The Department of Justice has a telephone hotline for scam involving those over 60 years old.
833-372-8311 National Elder Fraud Hotline will take complaints and assign a personal case manager to help guide you through the process. This is the only one of the agencies that make a point of providing contact.
On the other hand, this telephone number has been reported as being duplicated by scammers who ask for ‘additional information to process your claim”. Do not give out any information if receiving a call, insist on calling back to reach them.
IRS RELATED FRAUD -
If someone has contact you claiming to be with the IRS and asking for money (Scammers posing as the IRS have asked people to meet in a parking lot with gift cards, some of these are not sophisticated) The most direct point of contact is the US Treasury at tigta.gov
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FRAUD -
If you have tried to resolve your issue with your bank, broker, credit union or other financial institution without success, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is the place to address this. Complaints can be filed with them at consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools. This is the organization that handled such issues as banks opening accounts without authorization.
And if you are just curious about scams being run in your area, the following resources are provided for your browsing pleasure
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION GENERAL FRAUDS
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER ABUSE SCAMS
justice.gov/elderjustice/senior-scam-alert
FBI GENERAL SCAMS
fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes
IRS TAX SCAMS
irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts
FINANCE SCAMS
consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints
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