Man holding smartphone. Scam Alert
Getty Images/iStockphotoFinancial fraud and scamming have been around for ages, but according to Atlanta News First, Georgia is the number one most affected state by fraud than any other state.
According to a study done by Forbes Advisor, Georgians have lost $33.4 million in nearly 14,000 incidents so far this year. Nationally, Americans lost $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022 — 30% more than in 2021.
Georgia experiences 437 incidents per 100,000 people.
In local cities in the CSRA like Grovetown,Ga and across the country, scammers have gotten even more creative.
With the use of AI and other new technologies, the most common scheme is imposter scams. This is where the scammers pretend to be somebody else to get money. This has caused scamming to become more rampant.
At $234 million, people in their 60s have lost the most money from scams, the study said. But younger people weren’t immune. People in their 20s have lost $97 million in 2023, while those in their 30s lost $197 million.
Younger people become a major target when looking for a job. Scammers will pretend to be from a real company, that the person might've interviewed for. Then when signing up for direct deposits, they are able to gain access to their bank account.
How Georgia residents can avoid financial fraud and scams?
- Be on the lookout for red flags.
- Pressure from the representative to act fast.
- Promises that sound to good to be true.
- Encouraging you to use gift cards, prepaid cards, wire transfer or cryptocurrency
