By Alphonso Pearson,
Chase Community Manager
Chances are you, or someone up know has been a victim of fraud or a finance scam. As a result of the pandemic, fraudsters have been using consumer vulnerability to uncover new ways to find new victims. The good news is that there are simple ways to stay safe and fight back.
In a recent Chase survey of 2,000 consumers, 84% of survey respondents agreed that scammers have become more sophisticated in recent years.
To spot fraud, it’s important to learn more about the most widespread scams, how to prevent them and what to do if you think you may be a victim.
We sat down with Al Pearson, Chase Community Manager to help you become aware of the most common scams out there and what steps you can take so that you can protect your information and keep your hard-earned money safe.
AFRO: How common are fraud and scams?
[AL]: Fraud cases are unfortunately becoming more prevalent, and more sophisticated. In fact, the FTC revealed 3.5 million people reported being a victim of fraud or identity theft in 2020, an increase of more than 1.5 million from the previous year. For Black communities, the problem is even worse with nearly half (40%) of Black adults being targeted by an online scam and fraud, according to AARP.
What kind of scams exist that we should be aware of and know how to stop them?
While new scams are always popping up, there are several approaches that keep resurfacing year…
