Scammers love impersonating these 5 major brands to steal your money

Elvis impersonators shake, rattle and roll at nightclubs and other entertainment spots all across the country. But who are the most-impersonated, big name brand retailers, tech-support outfits, and businesses when it comes to the scammers? The ones who leave consumers all shook up?

The Federal Trade Commission drilled down on the data and reported that Best Buy’s Geek Squad, Amazon, and PayPal are at the top of the list for the most-impersonated, iconic companies based on complaints received in 2023.

Yet the dollars lost were the highest when the scammers pretended to be from Microsoft and Publishers Clearing House, according to the FTC's latest report.

Overall, consumers reported losing $60 million in Microsoft-related impersonation scams last year and $49 million in scams where crooks impersonated Publishers Clearing House, according to the FTC data. The data is based on reports to the Consumer Sentinel Network. The network received 7,000 complaints about scammers impersonating Microsoft and 7,000 complaints about scammers who claimed to be from Publishers Clearing House.

By contrast, the network received 52,000 consumer reports about impersonation scams that pretended to be from Best Buy or Best Buy's Geek Squad. Consumers who lost money reported $15 million in total losses.

The Best Buy Geek's Squad scam often involves emails that remind you to pay several hundred dollars to renew a service that you never had in the first place.

The Consumer Sentinel Network is managed by the FTC but compiles consumer complaints from many sources, including the AARP Fraud Watch Network, United Parcel Service, the Better Business Bureau, the Michigan Attorney General and other AGs across the country, Publishers Clearing House, the Microsoft Corp. Cyber Crime Center, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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Microsoft impersonation reports are generally classified as tech support scams, according to the FTC, and Publishers Clearing House impersonation scams generally fall into the category for scams involving prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries.

Calls from those who are impersonating employees at Publishers Clearing House often indicate that you'll need to pay fees or taxes upfront before you can get delivery of a brand new sports car or big sweepstakes check.

In April 2023, the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan warned consumers about a scam where crooks offered to "escort" a Wayne County consumer to the bank so she could withdraw money and pay $399 up front to be able to claim her winnings, a $1 million prize and a 2023 Porsche. Fortunately, the consumer did not play along and did not end up losing any money.

Unfortunately, though, some consumers are losing thousands of dollars to tech support scams, as well as sweepstakes scams.

No, it's not tech support

One Troy woman reported losing nearly $700,000 in savings in a Publishers Clearing House impersonation scam that dragged on several months. The woman reported the scam to Troy police March 17. The scammer pretended to be an attorney who said she had to pay various fees, including storage fees for a vehicle that she had won.

In a tech support scam, another Troy woman, an 83-year-old, told local police in May that a pop-up message appeared on her computer. She was told to call the provided phone number that was supposedly from Microsoft Security to unlock her computer.

The Microsoft impersonation scams start with a fake security pop-up warning on your computer with a number to call for “help." Of course, you're calling the scammers.

"If you get this kind of pop-up window on your computer, don’t call the number," the FTC warns. "Real security warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number."

When the Troy woman called the number, according to a Troy police report, she spoke with someone who told her that her computer had been hacked and her bank account already had been compromised.

Often, scammers convince stressed-out consumers that they can fix some problem, such as a compromised bank account, by sending or transferring money quickly.

In the Microsoft case, the scammers ultimately found a way to drive the 83-year-old Troy woman to withdraw $24,900 from her credit union account. She sent the scammers some money via a bitcoin transaction initially. Then, she was told to go to Nordstrom to buy $10,000 in gift cards. She read the numbers on the gift cards to the suspect, as directed, according to her report made to police on May 15.

After all that, the victim realized she was dealing with a scam. She notified her credit union, according to the police report, but was told by credit union officials that it was too late to recover her money.

Nordstrom is a rather unusual gift card request by scammers. Nearly 7 out of 10 people who reported paying a scammer with gift card said they were instructed to buy other well-known brands: Apple gift cards, Target gift cards, eBay gift cards, Walmart gift cards and Amazon gift cards.

Nearly 9 out of 10 people who reported paying a scammer with an app or service, according to the FTC, said they were instructed to use PayPal, Cash App, Zelle, Venmo, and Apple Pay.

Often, scammers will tell you that there's only one way to pay to resolve a situation. But that's often a big red flag that you're dealing with a scammer. Never wire money or pay by gift card or use a payment app when someone calls out of the blue. Don't trust the Caller ID information because scammers know how to spoof real numbers.

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What's important for consumers to realize is that most scams involve trying to catch you off guard, frighten you into thinking that you must act quickly to prevent something even worse from happening, or they might trick you into fearing missing out on something good, such as some big prize. Some scammers say you only have 24 hours to collect that prize.

People really tend to panic when they believe that they're hearing from a bank's fraud department about a situation where someone already is stealing cash from their bank account. Often, scammers are impersonating big name banks, as well as other financial institutions too.

Earlier this year, I wrote a column about how cyber-crooks made off with money from Hollywood celebrity Andy Cohen's bank accounts by using three wire transfers. The executive producer of the "Real Housewives" franchise did not say how much money was lost but indicated it was significant. Scammers engineered the scheme by initially impersonating someone from his bank's fraud department.

The FTC offers a list of ways to avoid getting caught by an impersonation scam. One key tip: Never move your money to "protect it" when someone says they've supposedly spotted fraud or criminal activity on one of your accounts. In these scams, you might sometimes be asked to share verification codes. Don't share it.

Last year, the FTC consumer network received 4,000 consumer complaints involving those impersonating the Bank of America with $8 million in losses reported. The network received 3,000 complaints about scams where con artists impersonated Well Fargo with $11 million in reported losses.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) @tompor.