The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report this month outlining the companies most commonly impersonated by scammers, the most successful branding used by scams, prominent methodology and more.
According to the report, Best Buy’s Geek Squad is the most widely imitated company for the purpose of fleecing victims, along with Amazon and Paypal.
"The scammers impersonating these businesses work in very different ways. For example, phony Geek Squad emails tell you that a computer service you never signed up for is about to renew – to the tune of several hundred dollars," the FTC reported.
Despite not being the most commonly mimicked companies, Microsoft and Publishers Clearing House are the two most financially successful ruses employed by con artists, the FTC said.
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"Microsoft impersonation scams start with a fake security pop-up warning on your computer with a number to call for 'help,'" the FTC said. "And calls from the fake Publishers Clearing House say you’ll have to pay fees to collect your (fake) sweepstakes winnings."
The FTC reports that email and phone are the most common form of scam message, but that there is a rise in manipulation of victims via social media. These scams are most commonly perpetrated via Facebook and Instagram.
The FTC also offered guidance to businesses hoping to make impersonations of their brand by malicious scammers more difficult.
"At minimum, make it easier for customers to reach you to find out what communications are legit," the FTC said in its report. "Of course, shifting responsibility onto your customers isn’t the answer, so look to your workforce’s ingenuity to deploy solutions that protect your loyal customers and your good name."
Scammers are constantly expanding the scope of their operations and making headway into new industries.
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Since early March, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has received over 2,000 reports from three states about a text-message-based phishing attack, also known as "smishing," impersonating highway toll authorities.
In this particular scam, bad actors will text a victim claiming they have an outstanding bill and then will direct them to a link that is "designed to look like the actual name of their state’s toll service" to pay the fee, according to the FBI.
Many of the complaints noted that the text will use similar language, like "outstanding toll amount." However, the link is created to impersonate the state's toll service name, and the phone numbers appear to change between states, investigators said.
FOX Business' Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
