Consumer Fraud Actions Rise By Millions In Ohio
A federal consumer protection agency stated that bank and credit card complaints increased by the millions in Ohio this past year. Fraudsters managed to bilk Ohio residents of up to $150 million in fraudulent transactions according to new data published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Ohio consumers reported losing 50% more money in 2022 than they did in 2021 and the situation is only growing worse. Bank and credit card fraud is the most reported form of consumer fraud in Ohio. Text, email, and phone scams are on the rise according to national statistics and Ohio residents are being warned by their financial institutions to be aware of these scams.
Data from 2022
Last year, the FTC received 407 bank fraud complaints from Dayton, Ohio residents. That number was 42% higher than in 2021. The Dayton area also received 577 credit card complaints which was a 35% increase in these complaints. Dayton’s was the third-largest increase across the state of Ohio. Across Ohio, the FTC received 9,100 complaints of credit card fraud and 5,525 complaints of bank fraud. These numbers could be misleading as a large number of individuals never report the credit or bank fraud to authorities.
Types of scams going around
The members of a credit union recently received text messages saying that their accounts had been suspended. These text messages lured victims into giving out their personal identification information, passwords, and contact information to scammers. On the surface, these scams look legit. It’s hard to tell the difference between an actual text message sent by the bank or credit union and a message that has been sent by scammers.
The scammed individuals are instructed to click on a link that sends them to a fake webpage. They are then asked to provide detailed information to unsuspend their accounts. This includes their account numbers, names, social security numbers, passwords, and bank account names. Most banks and credit unions do not ask users to provide that type of information over text. Consumers are warned to check to see if their bank accounts have actually been suspended by logging into their accounts online.
Other attempts to trick consumers into clicking on bogus links include telling the consumer that they just had a withdrawal of thousands of dollars and clicking to confirm they are the ones who made the withdrawal. These are also fake.
Scammers also pose as members of financial institutions and claim to have an urgent account matter or other issues that are meant to scare the customer into giving out their personal information. In this manner, they can take over your account with the information provided by the consumer.
Talk to a Consumer Fraud Attorney in Dayton, OH
Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of consumers in consumer fraud matters. Call our Columbus consumer lawyers today to schedule an appointment and we can begin discussing your situation immediately.
