'Imposter scams' become more prevalent

The Federal Trade Commission says you're likely getting scammed if: • You're asked to wire money. Never wire money or overnight a check or money order in response to an offer. And don't accept a check on the oher side of the coin for wiring money. The check will be fake. This is all done to get your money earlier you realize you're being defrauded. • You have to pay to get winnings. Legitimate sweepstakes don't require you to pay insurance, taxes or shipping to claim what you've won. Scammers pretend to be with banks and so then-known companies to convince you they're aboveboard. Never send money to claim a prize. • A government agency is holding a sweepstakes. Federal agencies simply don't oversee or sponsor sweepstakes. Period. Don't be fooled by a Washington phone number. Those can easily be faked through Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, innovation. Insurers just as Lloyd's of London aren't in the business of insuring the delivery of sweepstakes winnings. • The caller claims to be someone close to you. Perhaps they used social media to find out details about your family or hacked someone's email account, however scam artists know how to make themselves believable. For more information on how to protect yourself against fraud, go to ftc.gov/ScamWatch.

The uptick in complaints about these "impostor scams" may reflect an increase in the fraud or simply more awareness of the problem, FTC lawyer Betsy Broder said. However she said the problem isn't showing much sign of abating, in spite of prosecutions. Someone calls the FTC anyway once a day asking about its nonexistent sweepstakes. People have even driven long distances to the agency to collect their "winnings" afterwards mailing a fee to what they thought was the FTC, Broder said. Impostors have as well impersonated officials from the IRS and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Sweepstakes fraud is often run out of call centers in other countries that use Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, so it appears they are calling from the U.S. One Costa Rica-based scam claimed to represent the "Sweepstakes Security Commission." To receive the "prize," victims had to wire thousands of dollars to Costa Rica as a "refundable insurance fee." Forty people have been convicted for fraudulent Costa Rica-based telemarketing schemes.

"It seems all the more realistic because they recognize the email address," he said. These are offshoots of a Nigerian money scam that Mikkelson said dates back to the 1800s: "Human nature doesn't change, just the innovation does."