Best Buy Tops the List of Companies Most Impersonated by Scammers, FTC Says
Is that email really from the Geek Squad? Be careful. It could be a fraudster looking to steal your money or personal information.
Make sure that email or text is coming from who you think it is.
According to new data from the Federal Trade Commission, Best Buy, including its tech support brand Geek Squad, is the company most reported to be impersonated by scammers.
Consumers submitted abut 52,000 reports of scammers impersonating Best Buy or the Geek Squad in 2023, the FTC said in a report released Thursday. Those numbers were followed by 34,000 reports of scammers impersonating Amazon and about 10,000 falsely claiming to be PayPal.
But in terms of dollars lost to fraud, those companies fell far behind the likes of Microsoft and Publishers Clearing House. Those companies were impersonated in just 7 million reported scams each. But losses tied to Microsoft impersonations totaled a whopping $60 million, and scammers passing themselves off as Publishers Clearing House swindled consumers out of $49 million last year.
Best Buy said in a Friday statement that the safety of its customers is of the utmost importance.
"While scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, we have a team of experts and a number of resources dedicated to help prevent fraud and educate consumers, including how to spot warning signs and protect themselves," the company said.
Best Buy also emphasized that customers should only contact the company through trusted channels like its direct website or phone number, rather than alternate methods included in what could be scam communications. It also encouraged consumers who think they may have fallen victim to scammers impersonating Best Buy to contact both the company and local authorities and pointed to tips on its website that can help customers spot potential fraud.
Scam emails, texts and phone calls from fraudsters pretending to be from retailers like Best Buy, or tech support operations like those of the Geek Squad, Microsoft or Apple, are nothing new. The scammers will often contact potential victims and tell them that their software or warranty has expired, or that their computer is infected with a virus. They'll ask consumers to pay up, or ask for account login information, to make the problem go away.
Sometimes they'll collect payment card, account login or other personal information, which could then be used for financial or identity crimes, to break into online accounts, or be used in future scams. Other times, the FTC says, they'll ask for payment through a bank transfer, an app or service, or with gift cards or cryptocurrency, which by their nature are harder to trace and recover.