Have you been getting more scam emails or calls lately? You’re not alone. Scammers have been reaching out to Lexington County residents in droves. The Hurricane Florence scam emails we reported on are one recent example of many. A reader called to report another attempt at Medicare fraud just last week.
What can we do? When you get sent a suspicious email, text, or phone call from someone who means harm let authorities know.
Scam emails: Forward the email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov , the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team at phishing-report@us-cert.gov and to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org . If they are impersonating a real company, agency, or financial institution, forward the email to the real agency. That way they can try to address the issue/are aware of the scam. You can also file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Visit www.ic3.gov and click “File a Complaint”.
Scam phone calls or texts: Submit unwanted call complaints to the Federal Communications Commission https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov . If you get a scam text, file a complaint through the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov .
Mail fraud: Report fraudulent advertisements, chain letter scams and others to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/contactus/filecomplaint.aspx .
With your help, scammers can be shut down before they do more harm to less savvy individuals.