Category Protection

SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is facing a major rise in fraud due to skimming and phishing attacks. Thieves are stealing benefits by placing fake card readers on store payment machines or tricking people into giving away their personal information. This type of fraud has hit places like Connecticut hard, where over $6 million in benefits were stolen in just six months. Many families relying on SNAP are already struggling with high inflation and economic stress, making this theft even more harmful. In response, some states, including Connecticut and Pennsylvania, are adding new card security features. These upgrades allow users to lock and unlock their benefits cards to better protect against fraud.

AT&T has agreed to pay $177 million in a settlement after a major data breach exposed the personal information of millions of its customers. The settlement allows affected individuals to claim cash payments, but the deadline to submit claims is short, so acting quickly is important. This incident comes as people are more worried than ever about data security and financial fraud, especially during uncertain economic times. The breach has also sparked political debate about how much control the government should have over big tech and telecom companies. The case sends a strong message about the need for better protection of personal information and greater accountability from large corporations.

As technology gets smarter, so do scammers—and that’s causing new problems for people trying to protect their money. Instead of waiting to steal from you during a purchase or bank transfer, today’s fraudsters now strike earlier. They use artificial intelligence (AI) and social engineering tricks to gather personal details right from your first interaction—like a fake email, text, or even during a job application. These AI-powered scams can sound incredibly real because they’re designed using bits of true information. Once scammers gain your trust, it becomes easier for them to steal your identity or hack your accounts later. Experts say we’re entering a new era of financial fraud where trust and technology collide, and that makes staying alert more important than ever.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps like Zelle, Cash App, and Venmo have become very popular because they let people send money instantly using just a phone number or email. But as more people use these apps, scammers have found ways to trick users into sending money, often through fake payment requests or phony settlement offers. Since 2017, Americans have lost nearly $1 billion to P2P scams. The problem has gotten worse with growing financial stress, making people more likely to fall for too-good-to-be-true offers. Even though there have been legal efforts to protect users—like a lawsuit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed against Zelle—getting money back after being scammed is still very difficult. This has raised new concerns about whether enough is being done to keep people safe online.

In 2025, financial fraud is becoming a major issue for banks and lenders across North America. A new study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions shows that for every dollar a scammer steals, it actually costs a financial institution five dollars due to extra expenses like investigations, recovery, and customer support. Scammers are using advanced tactics like phishing, fake identities, and hacking into accounts, all while many banks still rely on outdated, manual methods to detect fraud. With increasing economic challenges and uncertainty in the world, both scam attempts and consumer stress are on the rise, making it even harder to protect people's money.

Cyber scams run by criminal groups in Southeast Asia are becoming a serious problem for Americans, with losses reaching $10 billion in 2024—a huge 66% jump from the previous year. These scams often take advantage of people’s trust, especially during tough economic times. One common trick involves scammers pretending to be friends or romantic interests online. Once they gain the victim’s trust, they convince them to invest in fake cryptocurrency websites designed to look real. Behind the scenes, these websites are controlled by the scammers. Shockingly, many of the people working in these scam centers are being forced to do so through threats or violence. In response, the U.S. Treasury is now putting sanctions on these international crime networks to stop the fraud and protect Americans.