Be Vigilant: How to Spot and Avoid Scams Targeting Associates

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data reports that consumers lost over $10 billion to fraud and scams in 2023, up 14% from the previous year.

The FTC also publishes military-specific fraud reports. Since 2019, active-duty service members, Veterans, retirees, Reservists and families have lost nearly $600 million to scams including business and government imposters, tech support scams and identity theft including credit card accounts and government benefits.

Scams targeting Exchange associates in recent years have included gift card scams, where someone impersonates an Exchange manager or senior leader over the phone and asks for money to be placed on a point-of-sale gift card. Other methods include impersonating someone from the Exchange’s IT department asking for gift card numbers and PINs to investigate issues with the gift card system.

Scammers have also posed as delivery carriers over the phone, calling Exchanges after hours claiming that a delivery is scheduled for the next day and asking for extra money as a delivery fee. They will ask for a credit card number or demand cash be taken out and deposited into a Bitcoin ATM.

With the identities of Exchange general managers and senior leaders publicly available, it is easier for scammers to come across as someone in authority to associates in stores. It is important to know that no one from the Exchange, including senior leaders and others from HQ, will ever conduct financial transactions over the phone, request cash or request to load a gift card.

“With scammers being able to easily ‘spoof’ phone numbers and email addresses to falsely impersonate legitimate businesses or Exchange leaders, it is more important than ever to be vigilant,” said Tommie Caudle, the Exchange’s vice president of loss prevention. “By exercising caution and knowing how to spot suspicious interactions, associates can avoid falling prey to scams.”