According to the Chief Product Officer for cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker, QR codes are being misused in many ways.

Fraud targeting older Americans continues to rise, with losses exceeding $3.4 billion last year, according to the FBI.

News 6 investigated and found Florida had the second highest number of victims than any other state, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Altamonte Springs police are warning residents about what their department is calling a scam that involves a caller pretending to be one of their officers, according to a news release. “The scammers claim the person missed a court date or summons and requests payment in the form of cash or gift cards,” officers said in the release. Altamonte Springs police said their officers don’t call asking for money and that if anyone receives a similar call, they should report it to authorities. “Please be advised, the Altamonte Springs Police Department will NEVER contact you and ask you for any type of payment," the release said. Do not give them any money or information and contact your local law enforcement agency to report it.”Anyone with information about the calls is asked to call the Altamonte Springs Police Department at 407-339-2441.

“We found a package from March pending for you,” a photo of the phony text message posted by Osceola County deputies reads. “Kindly assume ownership and confirm for delivery here.”According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the text includes a link that, when clicked on, leads recipients to a page that requests personal information from them. There have been reports of people receiving a text message about a "Pending Package" with a link requesting personal data. pic.twitter.com/ZX8bEQ2fy1 — Osceola Sheriff (@OsceolaSheriff) September 2, 2020In a “scam alert” warning posted by the sheriff’s office, deputies warned recipients of the dangers of clicking on that link. “Criminals seek to obtain information that could be used to steal your identity, empty your bank account or install malware,” sheriff’s office officials said in a tweet.

Her employer based in Norton, Massachusetts, sent her an email on June 31 that asked, Did you apply for unemployment benefits?Im mad, she said. The notice indicated she had applied for unemployment benefits on June 22 prompting her to immediately file a fraud alert with the state of Massachusetts. A Titusville woman who asked not to be identified received a notice that she applied for Massachusetts unemployment benefits in late May. Monica DaSilva, an employee with a Disney-area hotel restaurant, was the first to report the Massachusetts unemployment scheme. Chris Hadnagy, an expert in security data breach cases, said the dark web is being tapped to provide crucial personal information to illegally file for unemployment benefits.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. An Orange County school teacher discovered her name was used to apply for unemployment benefits in the state of Massachusetts even though she had never applied for unemployment benefits in that state. Three Central Florida women say someone used their personal information to apply for unemployment benefits in Massachusetts. (Courtesy)A Titusville woman we will identify as Heather received a notice that she applied for Massachusetts unemployment benefits in late May. Monica DaSilva, an employee with Marriot Hotels, was the first to report the Massachusetts unemployment issue. If you believe your identity has been used to apply for benefits in the state of Massachusetts you can file a fraud report here.

ORLANDO, Fla. – When Daniel Gomez received a W-2 tax form from a Miami-based company, he immediately thought his tax identification had been hacked. “I worked for Mangos, Café RIO and Dexter’s,” Daniel Gomez said. Liliana Gomez contacted News 6 because the Miami address on the W-2 appeared to lead to a three-bedroom home, not a professional office. “I feel a sigh of relief,” Daniel Gomez said. “Thank you.”For more information on what you need to do if you suspect your tax data has been hacked, click here.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Former Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary is the latest Central Florida resident to receive a threatening robocall from someone claiming to be an investigator with the Social Security Administration. “He said what’s the last four digits of your Social Security number.”The original recording was the voice of a woman who claimed to be Officer Karen Davis with the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration told News 6 it is aware of the surge in the bogus robocalls. Social Security will not:Tell you that your Social Security number has been suspended. Demand that you pay a Social Security debt without the ability to appeal the amount you owe.

YouMail CEO Alex Quilici told News 6 the volume equaled 169.6 million calls placed every day in November and seems to be the “new normal” in the world of robocalls. Areas in the South continued to receive the most robocalls in November, with Orlando’s 407 area code reporting more than 45 million calls, with additional area codes bringing the city’s total to more than 64 million calls. Below is a timeline showing robocall volumes since the start of 2018:Month Calls/Month Calls/Day Calls/Hour Call/Minute Calls/SecondNov. 2018 5.09 billion 169.6 million 7.1 million 117,764 1,963Oct. 2018 5.11 billion 164..9 million 6.9 million 114,544 1,909Sept. 2018 4.41 billion 147.0 million 6.1 million 102,060 1,701Aug. 2018 4.22 billion 136.1 million 5.7 million 94,548 1,576Jul. 2018 4.12 billion 137.4 million 5.7 million 95,479 1,591May 2018 4.06 billion 130.9 million 5.5 million 90,961 1,516Apr. 2018 3.16 billion 101.8 million 4.2 million 70,695 1,178Feb. 2018 2.75 billion 98.1 million 4.1 million 68,149 1,136Jan. 2018 2.88 billion 95.8 million 34.0 million 64,408 1,073“I think you’re going to see the carriers do more to try and block these calls,” Quilici said.

It was the man claiming to be Mike Poole and he needed $8,000 and promised he would pay her back. “ He said all the right things.”Standish made cash withdrawals and deposited them in various bank accounts with names of people she had never heard of. Lynne saw that story on ClickOrlando.com and called News 6 to share her experience of online love and lies. Investigators said the top warning sign is when your online friend falls in love with you overnight. “They’ll win your confidence and then your love, and then they’re going to try and win your money.”Griffith’s online dating tips:1.

"The problem with this is the items are purchased with stolen credit cards, and so the job seeker is enabling a smuggling operation." That’s why she founded Flexjobs, which screens job offers to make sure they are not set by unscrupulous con artists. There are several scams playing on the job boards right now, including the reshipper scam, the postal worker scam and the real job interview . FulFillment Express LLC will send job offers to people using sites like Monster.com and Craig’s List, according to Sutton-Fell. "It certainly is a big risk for the job seeker “," Sutton-Fell says, and very widespread across the country .

The IRS is issuing a warning to tax payers that “aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents” are still a major concern in central Florida and across the state. If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax:· Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Tax scams can happen any time of year, not just at tax time. For more, visit “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” on IRS.gov. Each and every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights they should be aware of when dealing with the IRS.

When Central Florida truck driver Kerry Branch received a letter from the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, in late December he thought it was a fake. “I thought it was a scam, Branch says, I didn’t think anything of it.”But before he tossed out that letter he contacted News 6. WKMG-TV contacted OPM’s communications director Samuel J. Schumach, who confirmed the letter Branch received was authentic. This matches one of the sample letters on our website, www.opm.gov/cybersecurity.”He stressed “They must match the sample letters verbatim, and direct people to the OPM website. Then he remembered he needed clearance to transport hazardous materials something he received federal clearance for twice in the last eight years.

Email blasts offering fast cash to wrap your car in an advertisement for Monster Energy Drinks are nothing but slick scams according to the company’s corporate office. In an email to News 6 Thursday the company confirmed the email was delivered by impostors:“The email … is not from Monster Energy. A few days after she applied for the job a counterfeit check was delivered via mail for $2350. In fact the check was from a credit union in Montana not Monster Energy Company. She was supposed to deposit the check keep $300 and send the rest to someone in California she never did.