Georgia is one of the top states for scams. Here are 5 to look out for

FEMA scams

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it has seen reports from law enforcement about “fraudsters” pretending to be FEMA workers in the wake of Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene.

Officials warn that fake or unlicensed contractors sometimes take advantage of storm survivors by stealing money and their personal information. FEMA staff and housing inspectors carry IDs, and survivors should always ask to see them.

Georgians should be cautious if someone asks for their FEMA registration number because a real inspector will never request this information since it is in their records. Inspectors also never require banking or other personal information, including a Social Security number.

“It’s particularly cruel when scammers prey on disaster survivors who are trying to piece their lives back together. Don’t become an easy target,” FEMA spokesperson Mario Boone warned.

IRS scams

With the tail end of tax season upon us, the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division is sounding the alarm about fraudsters posing as IRS agents. In these cases, the scammer contacts people by phone and tells them they owe the IRS money, often threatening them with arrest or legal action if the person doesn’t wire the cash onto a gift card or prepaid debit card.

“Consumers can easily be convinced that these calls are real as the scammer may know a consumer’s full or partial Social Security number or even use spoofing software that causes the IRS name and/or number to show up on your caller ID,” Shawn Conroy, an outreach coordinator with the AG Consumer Protection Division, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Conroy noted that one twist on the scam involves them threatening to suspend or cancel a taxpayer’s Social Security number unless they return a “robocall” voicemail. But the IRS will never call a person about unpaid taxes or penalties and typically reaches out by mail. They will never send messages threatening to arrest, sue or deport and will not demand a specific form of payment, such as a gift card or wire transfer, officials said.

EBT theft and fraud

One of the most prevalent scams on the radar of the Georgia Department of Human Services is related to electronic benefit transfer (EBT) theft and fraud.

EBT is an electronic system that allows state welfare departments to issue benefits from a payment card. Criminals typically use a device or a card reader to steal information from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards, a process called skimming. They may also try cloning, in which they transfer the data from the stolen card to a new card or rewrite an existing card.

SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families.

“This means your SNAP or Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) benefits could be stolen without you knowing,” officials said.

Nearly $1.75 million worth of stolen benefits were replaced in the fourth quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But officials say the reimbursement has ended after Congress recently decided to no longer fund a federal program to extend it.

Customers who may have been a victim of those types of fraud are asked to change their PIN and lock or replace their card immediately. They can report the incident to the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) at inspectorgeneralhotline@dhs.ga.gov or 877-423-4746, option 6. For phone scams, DHS spokesperson Ellen Brown asked the public to save the above number in their contact list.

“(We) encourage customers to practice good online security habits like maintaining strong, unique passwords and not clicking suspicious links or sharing sensitive information with unknown sources. Customers are also encouraged to change their PIN often, including right before their benefit issuance date,” Brown said.

Fake tax office email scam

In recent months, a new email scam appears to be targeting Georgia taxpayers by claiming to be from the “GA Taxation Office.”

The email is sent about “claims made through the coronavirus job-keeper payments/backing business incentive scheme,” and requests high-resolution photos of your driver’s license and Medicare card, according to Atlanta News First, which initially alerted the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) to the scam.

The DOR confirmed to the AJC that the email did not come from their department and was a scam. Spokesperson Joe Snowden said it was important to remember that official communication from government agencies will never request personal information from “unsolicited email or messages.”

“If you are uncertain about the legitimacy of an email, please never share any personal information and exercise caution. We strongly recommend that you avoid responding to any suspicious email or clicking on any links provided,” Snowden told the AJC.

You can contact the Georgia Tax Center to verify information related to your taxes or accounts and to make sure it is kept secure. Additional guidance is available here.

Phishing (taking the bait)

The most recent internet crime report from the FBI shows that Georgia had the ninth-most losses from scams in the U.S. in 2023. The majority came from phishing, which is essentially a scam that wants you to take the bait.

You might get an email that appears to be a legitimate business asking to verify your information by replying to it or visiting a website. But after clicking on the link, you get sent to a fake website that looks like a bank, but really isn’t. Those fake websites are then used to take your information, like passwords, credit card numbers, banking PINs, etc.

It is the most common scam across the country, with the majority of the victims being more than 60 years old.

“The FBI is deeply committed to fighting cybercrime, such as phishing and similar scams, by collaborating with both private sector organizations and partner law enforcement agencies. A key priority is raising public awareness about these scams to help individuals recognize and safeguard themselves against them. If you fall victim to cybercrime, including phishing, it’s crucial to promptly report the incident to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3),” FBI spokesperson Jenna Sellitto said.

The FBI says you should never click on an unsolicited email or text message. Be careful what you download, and set up two-factor authentication on any account that allows it. Other protective steps include looking up the phone number of a person calling and carefully examining email addresses or URLs, federal authorities say.

“By openly sharing things like pet names, schools you attended, family members and your birthday, you can give a scammer all the information they need to guess your password or answer your security questions,” the agency warns.