ORLANDO, Fla. – When News 6 meteorologist Samara Cokinos received a text from our news director, Allison McGinley, she was thrown by the 208 area code.
The veteran meteorologist was convinced her boss had gotten a new corporate phone number, so she responded.
“It said, ‘Hi Samara, let me know if you get this text, Allison McGinley,’“ Cokinos recalled. “They responded with, ‘Great, we will be compensating some of our staff for good work.’”
The text message asked Cokinos not to mention it to anyone because it was supposed to be “a surprise.”
“Actually, it kind of blew me away… because they said, ‘Can you confirm you can get Visa cards at a nearby store?’” Cokinos said. “When I went into her office she said, ‘That’s not me.’”
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An unofficial poll of the newsroom found at least 20 staff members received the identical text.
One text provided a list of stores to purchase the Visa gift cards from.
Samara brought the texts to yours truly and we quickly determined the end game would be the purchased cards and the codes on the back.
No one fell for the text imposters game.
This is not unique.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, “People reported almost half a million business and government imposter scams directly to the FTC.”
The FTC found several trends based on the reports that were filed:
- Scammers are relying more on text or email messages to start their schemes, and less on phone calls.
- Scammers are increasingly convincing people to send money through bank transfers or to pay with cryptocurrency.
Scammers often impersonate more than one organization, like a business and a government agency.
If you have an investment or consumer issue, email makeeendsmeet@wkmg.com or text the words “make ends meet” along with your issue and contact information to 407-676-7428.
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