This Is Michigan's Most Common Scam

MICHIGAN — Michigan is in the top five states most likely to be scammed, according to a new report, and the biggest culprit in the state is debt collection scams.

Debt collection scams and fraudulent robocalls are on the rise in the US, with millions of Americans targeted annually by scam artists. In fact, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data shows there were nearly 2.7 million reports of scams in 2017 alone. In honor of National Safety Month, the team at Your Local Security dug into data published by the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network to find each state’s most common scam so you can help protect yourself against an unforeseen attack.

In 2016, there were 746 cases of debt collection scams in the state of Michigan. Florida has the highest amount of scams, seeing more than 1,156 in 2016. Rounding out the rest of the top five Georgia, Nevada and Delaware.

Here’s a more in-depth look at how the most common U.S. scams operate:

Debt Collection
Debt collection scams involve scammers who call repeatedly, falsely represent the amount or status of your debt, fail to send written notice of debt, falsely threaten a suit, use profane language, fail to identify themselves as debt collectors, and/or violate other provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Imposter Scams

Scammers pose as a trusted person and contact you via email or phone to persuade you to send money or provide personal information. The scammer might claim to work for or be affiliated with a government agency—such as in the case of an IRS scam—be a friend or relative with an emergency need for money, technical support specialist, or even an online romantic interest.

Identity Theft

A scammer steals your personal identifying information (such as your Social Security number or credit card account number) to commit fraud or theft. While still a threat in the US, identity theft decreased by 16.05% in 2016.

State and Metropolitan areas are ranked based on the number of reports per 100,000 population. State rankings are based on 2017 U.S. Census population estimates. Metropolitan area rankings are based on 2016 U.S. Census population estimates.

Image courtesy Your Local Security

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