There may be no topic more talked about this year in all of America than tariffs.
The problem?
“I think most Americans still don't understand how a tariff works,” Victor Claar, an economics professor with Florida Gulf Coast University, told Gulf Coast News.
“A tariff is a tax paid by American companies when they want to bring in a good that’s been produced in another country,” he explained.
Still, it can be tough to follow the constant changes with tariffs, and now, criminals are taking advantage of that confusion.
The Better Business Bureau is seeing a rise in tariff-related scams: crooks capitalizing on unknowns and misunderstandings.
Among the emerging scams are texts and emails that request a tariff payment. Scammers claim to be from a retailer, a delivery company, or even the government itself. They’re hoping you recently ordered something that you’re still waiting to receive.
“That American importer may try to pass along the tariff to you in the form of higher prices. But the seller of the American company that brought that good or service in, they will never ask you directly to pay the tariff,” Claar explained. “That's a huge red flag.”
Another type of tariff fraud that’s been reported is fake relief payments. Scammers claim you can get checks similar to the COVID-19 relief payments and ask for all sorts of personal information as part of the scheme.
Nothing like that exists right now.
“The people that are going to act nefariously are going to do it at every opportunity — and this is just another one of them,” Ray Leventhal, a tech expert with CPR Tools in Fort Myers, told Gulf Coast News.
Leventhal said maybe the biggest red flag of all, with these scams or any others, is if you’re urged to act fast and do something out of fear.
“Think about it. Write it down. Call a friend. Get some other opinions,” he advised. “Jumping into something where it's going to cost you money or worse (is) probably not a great idea, no matter what that thing is.”
You should research any business you’re buying from. Scammers can pay for ads on social media or search engines just like legitimate companies.
Look closely at the website you’re using or the email address you’re getting messages from. Official government sites will end in .gov.
And don’t share personal information. Like it or not, the government already has all your information through tax filings. Any sort of stimulus check would likely go right into your bank account.
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