Imposter scams involve fraudsters pretending to be someone you trust, such as a government official or an officer, to steal your money or personal information.

Sheriff Imposters: Scammers can call and pretend to be from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, including copied officer names and phone numbers. They often claim missed jury duty and/or unpaid fines and will threaten arrest. They will keep you on the phone through the blackmail process.

Government Imposters: Scammers will impersonate representatives from Guilford County to convince you that your bank account is compromised. They'll instruct you to withdraw money and convert it into gold, before sending a “courier” to collect the bars for safe storage. However, once your gold is picked up, they’ll cut off contact and disappear.

False Invoices: Imposters are running scams by mail too. They’re sending fake invoices, forms and letters pretending to be from Guilford County and demanding payment ASAP. Know that the government will never ask you to wire money with services like Western Union or MoneyGram, or pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a payment app.

The bail process is stressful enough without worrying about scammers. Unfortunately, fraudulent actors often target vulnerable families of arrested individuals, pretending to be Guilford County bail bondsmen to steal money or personal information. We will never ask you to send money with services like Apple Pay, Western Union, MoneyGram, or pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a payment app.

To protect yourself:

• Verify their phone number
• Be careful sharing sensitive information
• visit the office in person
• check online reviews

This is the season of giving, but telling the difference between a real charity and a counterfeit can be a challenge. Legitimate charities make a push at year-end for last-minute donations. Scammers know this and make their own push to line their pockets.

Researching charities before donating: Go to the charity’s site and read online reviews to make sure it’s legit (and to ensure they’ll use your money responsibly).

Not donating via links sent by text or email: It can be tempting to click on a link, especially when you’re feeling generous during the holidays, but it might be an attempt to phish you.

Making secure donations: Charities don’t ask for cash donations, gift cards, or wire transfers. Donate by credit card or check and keep good records to make sure they aren’t overcharging you or charging your card each month.

Online relationships are more common than ever. But beware, sometimes cupid is a con. The scammer will often profess their feelings for you before getting to know you. They may offer to visit if you can help cover their travel costs, then cancel those plans at the last minute and disappear with your money.

The holiday season, characterized by increased online activity and generosity, often becomes a hotspot for fraudulent schemes. Here are some top scams in the 2025 holiday season:

Rug Pulls: Rug Pulls occur when developers hype up a new token or project, attract significant investments, and then vanish with the funds.

Phishing Scams: Scammers capitalize on the season by sending fake emails or creating websites offering crypto giveaways, holiday discounts, or charitable donations.

Fake Airdrops and Giveaway Scams: Social media platforms are flooded with fake airdrop promotions and giveaways, often impersonating well-known crypto figures like Vitalik Buterin or Elon Musk. These scams lure victims with promises of free tokens in exchange for a “small fee” or personal information.

NFT Frauds: The NFT boom has brought unique holiday-themed digital art to the market, but it’s also a fertile ground for scammers. Fake NFTs and plagiarized collections are sold on unverified platforms, leaving buyers with worthless assets.

Fake Crypto Exchanges and Wallet Apps: During the holiday shopping rush, many users look for new wallets or exchanges. Scammers take advantage by creating counterfeit apps that steal funds or login credentials.

There are several types of gift card scams you may encounter, and all of them end with you losing money.

• Don’t buy gift cards on public auction sites or store racks that anyone can access, because they may have already been activated and used.
• Don’t trust anyone selling gift cards for less than they’re worth, because they might be trying to scam you.
• Don’t listen to someone telling you that you can pay your bills with gift cards.
• Don’t share your gift card numbers with other people.

While mail and packages can be stolen at any time, the higher volume of mail and packages during the holidays gives greedy thieves more opportunities to steal holiday cheer. Scammers are targeting physical mailboxes to steal money and checks. They are also figuring out way to alter and/or wash checks to commit fraud. Avoid sending cash or checks through your mail. Remember, “Raise the Flag, Raise the Risk.”

The holiday season is one of the busiest travel periods. Trips can get expensive as lots of people try to get good flight tickets, hotel rooms, and rental cars. That means scammers are ready to pounce with travel booking scams, using fake travel websites and too-good-to-be-true prices for holiday travel.

More and more people do their holiday shopping online, but we’ve all seen the videos on the news of bold criminals stealing packages right off the front doorsteps of people’s homes – often during broad daylight. We call these porch pirates. Having a porch camera can prevent theft.

• Set up a temporary delivery hold.
• Have your packages delivered to a secure parcel locker.
• Set up deliveries to arrive when you know you’ll be home.
• Request packages to be delivered to a neighbor.
• Make delivery drivers require a signature before leaving a package.
• Install security cameras and register your camera with the Sheriff’s department just in case. This protects you and your neighbors. This registration does not allow access, it only let us know that you have a camera. To register, go to: https://connectguilfordcounty.org/

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and large-language models have allowed criminals to make scams more realistic than ever with “deep fake” videos. With this technology, criminals create videos that look and sound like a celebrity is asking you to take an action, but it is actually computer generated.

LinkedIn, Indeed, and other job platforms have fake jobs that seem to good to be true, and they will call your phone or pretend to hire you. No job will have you start the next day. If the interview seems sketchy, the job is probably sketchy.

The holidays are a big season for phishing scams. From shopping to parties to traveling, you might get a call from someone asking you to confirm something. While that text might be from a family member, friend, or new coworker, it could also be a part of a phishing scam.

Hyperlink manipulation and site redirects: When fake websites use scam hyperlink text or forced redirects to spam sites to carry out phishing attacks.

Link shortening: By concealing a site’s true URL until you’ve already navigated to it, scammers can use link shortening services to hide their true, malicious intentions.

Typosquatting: By building a fake site on a domain with a similar name to a trusted brand, scammers can fool you into giving up personal information.

Beware of fake donation drives, especially fake food drives during this time. Links from text messages and emails can lead to fake donations sites.

Don’t remember ordering anything? Fraudsters are sending fake SMS alerts with tracking links for packages that you never ordered. These are designed to lure shoppers into fake sites.

Is this sale or exclusive VIP access too good to be true? Maybe it is! Ads on social media for flash sales could lead to fake sites where they harvest your payment details.

Scammers are hijacking comment sections and impersonating brands with fake giveaway posts, often promising gift cards, tech gadgets, or exclusive discounts.