It’s International Fraud Awareness Week and one of the best ways to fight fraud is to empower consumers with information and resources to spot and avoid scams. Fraudsters work day and night to trick consumers into parting with their hard-earned money.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that businesses worldwide lose 5% of revenue each year to fraud, totaling more than $4.5 trillion lost annually. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 2.1 million fraud reports from consumers last year, with reported consumer-related losses adding up to more than $3.3 billion.
It’s so important to stay ahead of the latest trends and take steps to avoid falling prey to fraud. To guard against common fraud schemes:
Use credit cards instead of debit cards when purchasing products or services—especially online;
Never provide financial or personal information in response to a solicitation;
Refrain from opening emails from unknown senders; and
Utilize strong passwords that incorporate a mixture of capitalized and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Do not use the same password across multiple accounts.
For more information about common and emerging scams visit MyFloridaLegal.com.
By taking steps to avoid falling victim to fraud and reporting scams when you see them, you can help us build a Stronger, Safer Florida.
