Last Updated on September 6, 2020 by SCARS Editorial Team

SCARSSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS.™ ScamScam A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime -  is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. Alert: New Scam Targeting Teens And Young Adults

There Is A Rise In A New Scam Targeting Teens And Young Adults – Especially In The United States & Canada

This extremely damaging scam mainly works when a fraudsterFraudster A Scammer or Fraudster is someone that engages in deception to obtain money or achieve another objective. They are criminals that attempt to deceive a victim into sending more or performing some other activity that benefits the scammer. takes advantage of a victim’s naivety and commits fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim. in the victim’s name.

Though anyone can be targeted, we are seeing reports that the most common age range of victims are late-teens to young adults. This is thought to be because these groups generally have less of an income stream and are more susceptible to being tricked into giving their information for financial crimes or fraud in exchange for monetary payments or other benefits. In short, they simply do not know any better.

Here Are The Basics Of This Scam:

• A victim is approached by a stranger (or strangers) who offers them a chance to make money.
• The victim is given explicit instructions to open a checking/savings account with a credit union or bank and to give the stranger (fraudster) full access to this account.
• The victim is then assured that nothing illegal is going on and/or that they will not be held responsible for anything the fraudster does with the account information.
• With the account information that was provided to them, the fraudster commits fraud and money launderingMoney laundering Money laundering is the illegal process of concealing the origins of money obtained illegally by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions. Money laundering can be done through various mediums, leveraging a variety of payment vehicles, people and institutions. in the target’s name.
• Though the target may believe they are not liable for the crimes perpetrated by the fraudster, the reality is that they could be held responsible since they willingly allowed someone to use their account.
• This could lead to jail time and/or heavy fines.

Beyond the legal troubles this will bring, giving away your personal information to someone you don’t know can lead to a host of personal/financial troubles (such as identity theftIdentity Theft Identity theft is when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. In both the U.K. and the United States it is the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits, and perhaps to cause other person's loss. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, PINs, electronic signatures, fingerprints, passwords, or any other information that can be used to access a person's financial resources., for example) which can affect your credit for years to come. Since the most frequent victims of this type of fraud are young people, imagine how someone’s entire life can be altered by an incident like this.

Additionally, if this person is underage then the parents can also be financially liable for any losses. AND if the account is used to defraud others then the parents could be liable to the other victims for their financial losses.