The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has done just that revealed its findings on the most imitated companies in 2023, in an effort to help potential customers and victims better prepare for such attacks.
The report found that the most counterfeited company, with a total of 52,000 reports of impersonation scams, was Best Buy and its subsidiary Geek Squad, with losses of $15 million.
Rounding out the top three were Amazon, with 34,000 complaints, and PayPal, with 10,000 reports. A total of 132,000 impersonation scams were spotted from the top ten most imitated companies alone, many of which likely went unnoticed or even unnoticed.
Beware of imitation scams by these companies
Despite having significantly more cases of recognized impersonation than any other company, the financial losses associated with the Best Buy and Geek Squad scams put it in sixth place. The $15 million in losses were dwarfed by the $60 million in Microsoft-related losses, despite the tech giant having significantly fewer (7,000) recorded cases.
The difference is even greater when you compare the average cost per attack: $288 for Best Buy/Geek Squad versus $8,571 for Microsoft.
In light of the troubling outlook, the FTC has shared information on some of the most common tactics to be aware of, including service renewal fees, fake security pop-ups, and fees to claim non-existent prizes. The FTC also noted the rise of social media as an attack vector, along with traditional email and fraudulent gift cards.
To help customers avoid falling victim to scams, the FTC advises buyers to question and challenge anyone who requests payment via a specific method, such as gift cards or cryptocurrency. Customers should report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov to help the agency better understand fraudulent activity and prevent future attacks.