Whether you’re looking for love on an online dating site, shopping on Facebook Marketplace, or applying for a job on LinkedIn, there’s always a risk that you’re getting scammed.
But just how bad is it?
Imposter scams — where fraudsters pretend to be someone they’re not — were the second most common type of fraud in 2021. Imposters made off with more than $2.2 million this year, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
That’s almost double the amount of reported scams from the year before.
It’s not always easy to know if who you’re dealing with online is really who they say they are. In this guide, we’ll cover the most common scams to watch out for, how to recognize and outsmart a scammer, and what to do after you’ve been targeted.
