Most of us probably think we're too smart to be scammed by suspicious messages that show up in our inboxes or on our phones, but research shows that no matter how confident we are in our own shrewdness, every one of us is at risk. As technology has evolved, so has the savviness of the modern scam industry, which now preys on consumers across all age ranges and income brackets with a level of sophistication and organization that we've never seen before. The digital age has created countless opportunities to take advantage of consumers, from farming your Facebook likes in order to sell bogus products, to phony tech-support connections that allow criminal syndicates to gain access to your devices and accounts.
This month, we fill you in on how to identify and avoid the newest scams. We'll help you spot suspicious fees on online ticket purchases, recognize fraudulent charity schemes, and fight back against hacking rings that target you by text message. The digital world is hard enough to navigate without having to worry about steering clear of scammers. And at CR, equipping you with the guidance you need to make confident decisions is just one part of a larger commitment: working with you to build a digital marketplace that all consumers can trust.
Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the June 2018 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
