Scammers are tricking consumers by pretending to be well-known companies – Telemundo Miami (51)

Scammers target businesses, using their names to trick the public into taking their money. “These are scams by business impersonators, people who impersonate well-known companies,” says Rosario Mendez, an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC.

According to FTC data, consumers filed about 52,000 fraud reports from Best Buy’s Geek Squad, 34,000 from Amazon and 10,000 from PayPal.

Companies are trying to combat this by educating the public. Best Buy says on its website that it is suspicious of any call claiming to be from your company and saying you need to renew computer service. Amazon has a video on its website warning the public about fake sites, confirmations of orders you didn’t place and any messages asking for financial information. PayPal warns on its page about false messages claiming your account has been suspended, that you received a payment or that you were overcharged.

Consumers have lost far more money to scammers than Microsoft, through false alerts or pop-ups about computer problems. “They say they’re Microsoft or another company and they need to give them access to your data on your computer, and then it turns out they’re not, they’re a scammer, and now what they’ve done is taken over your computer and stolen your data or blocked you from accessing all your information,” Mendez warns. Microsoft also has a video on its website explaining how scammers are using its name to defraud the public.

As fraud and losses increase, AARP is ramping up its outreach to the 50-plus public about scams and offers these tips. “You initiate the outreach. Never respond to a text from a number you don’t know. Never email or click on a link they send you suggesting they can deliver a package. Never answer a call from a number,” advises AARP spokesperson Jill Cabrera.

The Better Business Bureau or BBB also recommends monitoring our credit report and bank accounts and freezing credit if we are victims of identity theft so that scammers cannot solicit loans in our name.