It’s Your Money: Resolve to make 2025 scam-free for you and your loved ones

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NEWS: AARP and the Federal Trade Commission issue releases on how to protect yourself from scams in 2025.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: Even you can get ripped off by a scammer. Always be vigilant, and spread the word.

Just because it’s a new year doesn’t mean scammers are going to resolve to stop ripping people off. In fact, they are upping their game as consumers get more savvy and technology makes it easier to trick people. 

It’s more important than ever that you do everything you can to keep you and your loved ones safe from scams. In a special edition of “It’s Your Money,” we’ll take a look at the latest scams and how scammers are getting more sophisticated. We’ll also, of course, discuss how to keep yourself and your loved ones from being victims.

Both AARP and the Federal Trade Commission issued news releases in the past couple of days alerting consumers to increased efforts by scammers to trick people out of their money, with AARP listing the top five scams going into 2025, and FTC giving tips and resources on how you can become a “fighter against fraud.”

AARP warns that a top tactic has become a “wrong number” text that lures you into engaging with the scammer. As a helpful person, you want to be sure whoever sent the text is aware they got the wrong number. AARP gives the example of someone getting a text that is meant to go to a veterinarian about a health issue with a puppy. The scammer nails it down by including a cute puppy photo. Who’s not going to respond and let the “puppy owner” know that they have the wrong number?

I’ve received two “wrong number” scam texts in the past couple of days. One purported to be a real estate agent who called me “Donald” and asked if I still wanted to list my home since market values had soared in my area “since we last spoke.” It had a Kentucky area code. Another was from “Ikea” wanting to engage about a “furniture delivery.” It had a Montreal area code.

While such scams may seem innocuous at first – what’s the harm of texting someone back to tell them they have the wrong number? The point is to engage you, make a connection, then worm their way into your consciousness.

Preying on dreams

Artificial intelligence is making it much easier for scammers to look like the real deal.

An AI-fueled scam that I have personal experience with is one that targets people involved in the arts.

Last month, I got an email from a “Los Angeles agent” who was interested in promoting my mystery novels to production companies. Many writers’ dream that their books will be discovered by Netflix or someone, bringing their awesome stories to billions of viewers while making millions of dollars for the writer. The scammer is counting on that.

But, remember, I write all the time about scams. 

On top of it, a similar scam had already targeted my 88-year-old dad, by phone, last year. Dad had helped his brother, a priest in Tanzania, put together a book of my uncle’s letters home over the past 60 years. The persistent phone caller said he was from a production company, throwing around the name Michael De Luca, who’s chair of Warner Entertainment. The caller, of course, said he was with a production company owned by De Luca, which didn’t make sense to me, since De Luca is chair of Warner. The caller also couldn’t get the name of my uncle’s book right.

He’d left several messages on my dad’s answering machine. I called back, suspecting it was a scam, to see what the guy said. After quizzing the guy, who seemed put off it was me calling back, not my elderly father, I was sure it was a scam. I googled it and it’s a common scam. The scammer asks the unwitting author for money for pre-production type costs like script writing, rips them off, then leave them high and dry.

About a month ago, when I got that email from the “Hollywood agent,” I was on high alert, partially because of my dad’s experience. On the surface, the email seemed legit, with a logo, LA address and more. It was even well-written, with no grammar or spelling errors. It used to be that most scams would be laden with typos and other errors, but AI is making it a lot easier for scammers to appear professional.

I Googled the name the email was from and it was the name of a real agent – part of their ploy to make it look legit.

But the real agent represents acting talent, not writers. She has nothing to do with promoting books to production companies. I could find nothing on her profile or website that indicated she was branching out from her initial job. There were a lot of other things that were off – the name of my book, for instance, was not how someone would refer to it professionally.

I found the email address of the real agent, which was very similar to the one on the scam email, with a couple of minor differences, and alerted her to the scam. She was appalled that her name was being used.

Since then, I’ve received two more emails from two other “agents” with the same pitch.

One tip if you’re in a creative field – research how business in your industry works. I know enough about film options and agent communications that the approach in the emails I got was off. I was pretty sure from the start they were a scam, as any real approach would be much different.

The lesson there is if you are targeted specifically for something you create, don’t let your dreams of success get in the way of some good old-fashioned common sense.

AARP’s top scams of 2025

AARP warns of these top scams to be aware of in 2025, many more sophisticated than they used to be, with help from AI:

  1. Employment scams. These are on the rise and can include phony ads on job sites, fake recruitment pitches in your inbox and more. They may be phishing scams – designed to get your personal information, or they may try to get money out of you for training or certifications. There’s even one that pays you a bonus with a fake check, then tells you that they overpaid and you have to send some of the money back.
  2. Cryptocurrency scams. A scammer contacts you or makes a connection through an app or social media, then convinces you to invest in crypto.  According to the FBI, confidence-enabled cryptocurrency investment fraud was the most prominent type of crypto scam in 2023. Scammers will show you fake information, like profit reports, to convince you. Then they’ll rip you off and you’ll never hear from them again.
  3. Celebrity imposter scams. AARP said its Fraud Watch Network receives dozens of celebrity impostor scam reports a month. They may be as simple as phony product endorsements that get you to pay for a product you’ll never get, or as sophisticated as making the victim believe they’ve entered into a friendship or romance with a celebrity. The “celebrity” will then ask for money for a charity or something like a downpayment on a house the two of you will live in together because their accounts are “frozen” for some reason.
  4. Tech support scams. This is one that my 88-year-old father is constantly getting pitched on. My sister who lives with him is on constant alert, because he keeps leaving himself notes that he has to call to cancel or fix his McAfee account. He doesn’t have a McAfee account. She even caught him on the phone with “tech support” one afternoon, and gave the guy an earful before hanging up on him. AARP says these scams usually start with a pop-up message that includes a logo from companies like Microsoft or Apple (or McAffee!) saying your computer has a virus. When you click on a link or call a “support number,” they request remote access to your computer and access all of the information on it, or install malware. They also may ask for bank account or other sensitive information.
  5. Card-declined scams. You make an online purchase, but get a notice that your card was declined. In reality, the payment went through and you are charged by a fraudulent site. Some people end up paying several times, with several different cards. AAA was used for this scam earlier this year. Customers were told they’d get a free emergency road kit if they took a survey, but when they put in their address for the kit were told they had to pay postage. It was a scam site. These scams usually start as an email or text with a link that looks legit, but isn’t.

Be a scam watchdog

To avoid getting ripped off, don’t respond to unsolicited emails or texts, or click on links that you’re sent. If you think there’s an issue with an account, find the actual customer service number and call that. Be sure it’s the real website, and not a fake one, and the real customer service number. Don’t believe that any unsolicited contact – be it from a business, tech, celebrity, or anyone else – is legitimate. Just delete and move on.

AARP has a fraud alert page on its website with advice and resources, including more details on how to avoid the scams it listed, as well as other common scams.

The FTC also has many scam-related resources. In a news release Monday, the agency urged consumers to not only be vigilant, but also to be proactive when it comes to scams.

“Something as simple as talking about scams you know about is a great way to help you and your community stay protected,” the release said. “Share what you know. Have a conversation, leave FTC materials where people will see them, or post on social media. Are you part of group? Consider using Pass It On or Pásalo presentations, complete with notes and supporting materials, to start a conversation about scams. All FTC content is in the public domain, which means there’s no copyright or permission needed to use it.”

The FTC’s resources include:

  • Articles, consumer alerts, and advice to help you spot and avoid scams at consumer.ftc.gov.
  • Resources in multiple languages at ftc.gov/languages.
  • Free print materials (including delivery) to share with your organization or community at ftc.gov/BulkOrder.

You can also report fraud or scams to the FTC in any language. They want to hear from you even if you didn’t lose money. Report in English at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, in Spanish at ReporteFraude.ftc.gov, or in another language by calling 877-382-4357 and pressng 3 to speak to an interpreter.

Keep an eye on this column, too. No matter what the monthly topic, I frequently highlight a scam of the month, with information and resources. You also may want to check out the Anatomy of a Scam column, an in-depth look at how even someone like you can be scammed.

Happy 2025! Whether you make New Year’s resolutions or not, resolve to make it a scam-free year for you and your friends and family.

You can reach Maureen Milliken at mmilliken@manchesterinklink.com


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