Like retailers, scammers like repeat customers. Retailers try to earn repeat business by selling quality products at good prices and providing good service. Scammers get repeat customers by manipulating victims over and over again.
Some scammers will keep a list of victims who have surrendered
money to return with another scam to try to get more money. Other scammers
purchase victim lists (known as sucker lists in the “trade”) for a list of
people who would be more likely to be manipulated in a scam.
One scam that fraudsters use is a Recovery (or Refund) Scam. If someone
has been victimized in a scam, the scammer may come back pretending to be a trustworthy
government agency, a recovery company, advocacy group, or law firm to offer
their services. This could be to process a refund or to work through the bureaucracy
to pursue your claim.
They will make lavish promises that they can recover your lost
funds. They will claim that they have a very high success rate for their “clients.”
But they need to be paid a “retainer fee,” “processing fee,”
“administrative charge,” “tax,” “shipment and handling charge.” They may also
want some personal information to help process your claim such as social
security number, checking, debit, or other financial account number.
There are legitimate recovery companies, but often only do the
filing that you can do for free.
Being scammed is a devasting experience. And it is natural to want
to recover any lost funds. But be careful.
·
Ignore unsolicited offers. If you have an interest in a specific organization,
such as a law firm, do a web search with the name of the firm and keywords such
as “scam,” “fraud” or “complaint.” You can also look up companies and charities
on the Washington State Secretary of State website- https://www.sos.wa.gov/. You can also look
up a business to see if they are a member of the Better Business Bureau- https://www.bbb.org/.
·
Reject pressure tactics. Scammers use pressure to get you emotional
so that you act emotionally not logically.
·
Be leery of anyone who guarantees that they can return all of your
money.
·
Walk away from up-front fees. Scammers will charge up-front fees to
start getting money out of you. And they may string you along with one more
fee. Then one more fee.
If you are scammed, you will feel foolish. Remember, you have been
victimized by a criminal. It is the criminal who is at fault for stealing your
money and possibly your personal information.
Federal Trade Commission:
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/refund-and-recovery-scams
AARP:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/recovery-scams/
It can be possible to recover scammed funds. Here are a few tips:
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3):
https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240624
Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA):
https://www.finra.org/investors/insights/recovery-scams
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