Scams

Legitimate government agencies — IRS, Social Security Administration, Medicare, law enforcement — never call demanding immediate payment, threatening arrest over the phone, or asking for payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. If you receive such a call, hang up. Look up the agency's official number at usa.gov and call them directly. Government agencies primarily communicate via postal mail for serious matters.

Pig butchering (from the Chinese slang "sha zhu pan" — fattening the pig before slaughter) is a long-con investment fraud. Scammers contact victims randomly on social media or messaging apps and build a genuine-seeming friendship or romance over weeks. They then introduce a "can't miss" cryptocurrency or forex investment opportunity. Victims invest increasing amounts into fake platforms until the scammer disappears with everything. Losses average $120,000 per victim. Any unsolicited investment tip is a red flag.

The highest-impact scams currently: (1) AI voice clone emergency scams impersonating family members, (2) pig butchering crypto investment fraud, (3) fake government impersonation calls threatening arrest or benefit suspension, (4) romance scams via social media and dating apps, (5) tech support scams with fake pop-ups claiming your computer is infected, and (6) job scams targeting remote work seekers with fake cheque overpayment schemes.

Your information enters scammer databases through data breaches, data broker sales, social media profiles, public records, and purchased "lead lists." Scammers also use random dialing scripts and spoofing tools that generate calls from local numbers. Once you answer or engage, your number is flagged as "active" and sold to more scammers. Reducing your digital footprint by opting out of data brokers significantly reduces these contacts.

Act immediately: (1) Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, (2) file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov, (3) contact your state attorney general, (4) if a bank transfer was involved, call your bank within hours — you may have a window to reverse it, (5) for credit card fraud, dispute the charges immediately. Document everything: screenshots, phone numbers, transaction records. Recovery is rare but your report contributes to law enforcement investigations that do result in arrests.