FBI urges ‘Holiday Talk’  for families to avoid scams

ATLANTA  — One bit of information provided by FBI Public Affairs Spokespersons Tony Thomas and Jenna Sellitto helps accomplish the pair’s attempts to get the public thinking about scams that, unfortunately, increase dramatically during the holiday season.

During a conversation with The Albany Herald, Thomas pointed out that scamming the public has become a $50 billion enterprise in the United States.

So the FBI has produced a 10-minute video that the agency hopes will get families talking about the growth of scam efforts during the end-of-year holiday season.

“Combating scams is always a huge focus of the FBI,” Sellitto said during a phone call with The Herald after she and Thomas had to reschedule a visit to the newspaper. “We have two whole squads in our Atlanta office who are always working on the issue.

“Scammers are always evolving, always using the latest technology, so we have to work around the clock to keep up.”

Both FBI officials say the 10-minute video, available at the agency’s website, offers five key tips to help prevent scams year-round, including: 

— Don’t trust promoted links;
— Inspect sender details and verify;
— Filter unknown callers;
— Use password or email managers;
— Never share multi-factor codes.

The video and a downloadable pamphlet can be found at https://www.fbi.gov/holidaytalk.

Thomas and Sillitto said one of the fallacies about scams is that they are only successful when targeting stereotypical victims. But they pointed out that everyone is susceptible.

“Most people think the stereotypical victim is someone who’s older, that thee folks are more gullible,” Thomas said. “But that’s just not true. A lot of victims are college-educated, smart individuals. People just tend to get caught up during the holidays and don’t pay attention the way they should.

“Sometimes, all it takes is one click of the mouse, and you lose a lot of money.”

The spokespersons encouraged anyone who is a victim of a scam to reach out to the FBI at ic3.gov/ to report the incident.

“People definitely should report any scam to local police or sheriff’s offices and call their bank, but this website is 911 for scams,” Sellitto said. “If we get a report within 48 hours of a scam, there’s a 60% chance we can get their money back. This internet crime complaint center is how our agents make cases.”