People are becoming increasingly vulnerable to digital scams these days.
In fact, Arizona ranks No. 6 in the country for financial fraud, according to the Justice Department.
Tucson Police Department told KGUN 9's Concetta Callahan they frequently get calls related to fraud activity online.
Concetta spoke to an office manager at a Northwest Tucson doctor’s office, who cost the medical practice thousands of dollars when she authorized the payment of a doctor’s paycheck to a scammer.
“So, the day that it happened, I came into work, just like any other day; got logged into my email,” Candace Sanchez recalled.
That’s when she saw she had an email from one of the doctors to change their banking information before the next pay period.
The request turned out to be a scam.
“At first, I was shocked, then a lot of disbelief. Like, how did this even happen,” Candace explained.
“It was pretty devastating knowing the impact it had on the company.”
As the office manager, communicating with a busy doctor over email isn’t out of the norm for Candace.
"When you look at (the email), does it look real to you? Does it look like it would be just a normal person or a normal company?”
To Candace, it did.
"I fell for it," she said.
Tucson Police Officer James Horton said the email was a classic case of "spoofing," or in Candace's case, "email spoofing."
The fraudsters disguised themselves as her colleague by forging the doctor's email address.
“Often times, scammers are taking advantage of those who are multitasking and busy, so it’s no surprise that a busy office clerk, perhaps in the midst of a lot of emails, and a lot of things, assumed that it was a legitimate email,” Officer Horton explained.
Horton said it is important to always verify the information given, because scammers are everywhere.
“We always recommend to double check," he said. "Make sure to look at the email address it is coming from. If something looks a little off, if the spelling is funny, if the logos look a little weird."
Unfortunately for Candace, because she thought the email was from someone she trusted, she was manipulated into changing the doctor’s banking information, so their paycheck was deposited right to the scammer.
“We lost a couple thousand dollars from it," Candace said. "It made me feel embarrassed. Like I wasn’t doing my job right."
Recent FBI data shows reported cybercrime losses reaching topping $600 million.
However, consumer advocacy groups estimate that, due to underreporting, true annual scam losses in our state could be closer to $2-billion.
Officer Horton provided a list of the top scams reported:
- Identity theft
- State benefits fraud
- Mail theft
- IRS-related scams
- Vulnerable adult financial exploitation
If you are a victim of fraud or know someone who is, you can report the scam to the following agencies:
www.identitytheft.gov [identitytheft.gov] - Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft
State benefits fraud: AZ Department of Economic Security (DES) has a hotline at 1-800-251-2436, or their website https://azdes-community.my.salesforce-sites.com/ [azdes-community.my.salesforce-sites.com]
US Mail Theft: US Postal Inspector, 1-888-876-5322
IRS related scams: https://www.tigta.gov/ [tigta.gov]
Vulnerable Adult Financial Exploitation: Arizona Adult Protective Services https://des.az.gov/report-fraud/report-suspected-fraud, and the Arizona Attorney General's Office https://www.azag.gov/consumer/data-breach/identity-theft
