‘You’ve won!‘: Colorado officials kick off Consumer Protection Week with warning about imposter scams

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – As National Consumer Protection Week begins, officials are warning Coloradans about imposter scams.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is kicking off National Consumer Protection Week, which runs from March 2-8.

As they do, they are emphasizing the dangers of imposter scams and letting everyone know how to avoid them. Imposter scams are scammers who try to convince a victim that they are speaking to a friend or relative, or that they are a legitimate source, such as a bank or government agency.

Once a victim is convinced, these scammers take personally identifiable information and use it to steal that person’s money, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

“They start with messages like, ‘I’m in trouble…,’ ‘I need…’, ‘You’ve won!…’ or, ‘I have a great offer for you!’” said Inspector in Charge (INC) Eric Chen from the Criminal Investigations Group. “These scammers lull consumers into a false sense of trust, gain access to privileged information, and then drain financial accounts.”

INC Shen said you can do the following to protect yourself from these scams:

– Take your time to make financial decisions, be it investments or unsolicited offers like the lottery or sweepstakes.

– Call your bank directly if you get a message like this from someone pretending to be your bank. If there’s doubt, be sure to reach out to a verified number.

– For grandparents, if you get a message from someone claiming to be your grandchild asking for financial help, make sure it’s really them. Call them or their parents at a number you recognize to confirm they sent you a message.

– If you meet someone on the internet who professes their love for you right away, but needs financial assistance, stop talking to them as soon as you can.

– If you get a text from the Postal Service, report the message to spam@uspis.gov. The Postal Service will not send you unsolicited texts.

– Put your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry by calling 1 (800) 383-1222 or at www.donotcall.gov.

– If you are a victim of scam or fraud, report it. You can also call (877) 876-2455.

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