From Yahoo Finance: 2025-03-30 17:01:00

Wealthy Americans are prime targets for scammers, with the potential for hundreds of thousands to be stolen in one scam. New tactics like “whaling” involve personal targeting of wealthy individuals for financial gain, with scammers using open-source intelligence and social engineering to build trust and extract money. Impersonation fraud, particularly in investments, is on the rise, with scammers mimicking trusted individuals to deceive victims into sharing sensitive information or making payments.

Tax-related fraud is a prevalent scam targeting wealthy individuals, with cybercriminals impersonating the IRS or tax professionals to demand immediate payment or resolve fake issues. Scammers create convincing websites to sell non-existent luxury goods, exploiting victims’ trust and urgency during tax season. Fake charities and even fake kidnapping schemes are used to exploit wealthy individuals’ generosity and emotions.

To protect against scams, wealthy Americans should prioritize multi-factor authentication, unique passwords, and verification of large financial transactions with trusted individuals. Developing a family authentication plan and using independently verified contact information for financial transactions can help prevent falling victim to sophisticated scams targeting the wealthy.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: 7 Top Scams Targeting Wealthy Americans