2018 Year of the Imposter

Ken Scaggs
Sr. Advisor - Specialty Lines VP
NFP

If you are a frequent consumer of the news/social media outlets you have probably begun to realize that cyber threats and attacks continue to grow as we advance further as a society. From the widespread Equifax hack down to a local machine shop being held up operationally from ransomware, there is really no guarantee that any particular group is safe from these cyber threats. Which is the most prevalent, you may ask? Reported by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the first time in their Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, they have identified that imposter scams are the top consumer fraud complaint that was received in 2018. More specifically, they are finding that there is an increase in these cyber criminals claiming to be from a government agency such as the IRS or Social Security Administration. In totality, the FTC received close to three million complaints from consumers in 2018. It was reported that roughly $1.48 billion was lost to fraud in 2018, which is 38% higher than the year before – a notable growth percentage.

In this day and age there always seems to be some sort of sense of urgency with most individuals and businesses, which is what these cyber criminals are utilizing to their advantage. Since we are more connected as a society than ever before, people’s demands and needs have risen as they are able to openly voice their thoughts/opinions to the masses. This has ultimately influenced our fast-paced culture. Of the previously mentioned $1.48 billion being lost to fraud, $488 million of that was lost to imposter scams which accounts for more than any other type of fraud, with the median loss being $500. In the FTC’s report, they found that Florida has more fraudulent claims than any other state. This may not be a surprise to many, due to Florida’s population being densely packed with potentially high-value fraud targets. Florida is well known for the large population of retirees and elderly, which unfortunately makes them an easy target for cyber criminals due to their age and financial assets they have built throughout their life.

In 2018, there were 535,417 imposter scam reports to the FTC and roughly half of those reports were government imposter scams. Typically these scams will involve an indidivual impersonating someone from the Social Security Administration. What happens next is the impersonator will tell people that their Social Security number has been suspended and they’ll need to pay money to “reactivate” it or that there is some other problem altogether in hopes they’ll reveal the Social Security number. Social Security numbers, however, are never suspended and the Social Security Administration will never require an individual to pay to obtain one. These scams have become so popular due to the short turnaround time with the sense of urgency in either emails or phone calls, and it also comes at a pretty low cost to reach a high volume of potential targets. Spoofing emails and phone calls has become a common threat and the cyber criminals behind it are becoming more advanced as we continue to catch on to their schemes.

How can you protect yourself against threats like these scams, or perhaps you’re concerned about other cyber exposures to you and/or your business? We would recommend reaching out to your local NFP Risk Consultant to start the discussion. From there we can see where you or your business may become a target to cyber criminals and how to prevent those risks. If you are interested in reading further into the FTC’s report there is a hyperlink included above. The FTC produces the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book annually using reports received by the Consumer Sentinel Network. These include reports made directly by consumers to the FTC, as well as reports received by state and federal law enforcement agencies, national consumer protection organizations, and nongovernmental organizations. Please do not hesitate to reach out if NFP can be of assistance in protecting you and your business from cyber threats or anything else that may be keeping you up at night.
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