The Spokesman-Review Newspaper

The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review

Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883 Cloudy 35° Cloudy
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Tags let us describe our content with keywords, making it easier to find what you're most interested in. Use the search box to look for tags, or explore our coverage with the lists below.

Beware of COVID-19 scams, state and federal officials warn

State and federal officials are warning Washington residents to beware of phony COVID-19 treatments that can be harmful to their health as they see a rise in scams and false testing kits circulating through social media.

Commentary: Census scams likely to target elderly

With the start of the 2020 Census count, scammers and con artists are going to toss their “pitches” at older Americans. The census is too important to allow them to succeed.

Relationship scams: For one Spokane man, the heart briefly overruled the brain

Jon Louis, 81, recently got hooked by an online relationship scam that nearly cost him $3,000. The Spokane widower accepted a Facebook friend request from a woman claiming to be in the military in Yemen. She eventually sought funds for travel to see him, but his credit union flagged the fraud. Thousands of Americans are scammed within matchmaking websites, dating apps and social media, said the AARP, releasing a new survey on relationship scams encountered in Washington state.

The most rampant robocall scams are linked to health insurance, Amazon and student loans

PHILADELPHIA – There’s a good chance the next caller on your cell phone will try to take your money or steal your identity. This grim statistic comes from First Orion, an Arkansas-based call management company that estimates nearly 30 percent of all cell-phone calls came from scammers this year. The firm predicts nearly half of all mobile calls will be fraudulent in 2019.

Beware, online daters: Looking for love, you could be scammed instead

An estimated 82,000 U.S. consumers who’ve used dating sites in the past three years have been scammed by individuals who shower them with compliments, romantic text messages and promised dates, only to bilk them for money, the Better Business Bureau said this week.

BBB Tip of the Week: Beware of tax season scams

By now you should have received your W-2 form in order to file your 2017 taxes. These tax forms are easy to identify because of their unique size and shape. Tax forms contain your most sensitive information and are a very quick way for scammers to commit tax identity theft and fraud. Tax identity theft occurs when someone gets access to your Social Security number and uses it to get a tax refund or secure employment. You’ll discover it occurred when you receive a letter from the IRS stating more than one tax return was filed in your name, or IRS records show you have wages from an employer you do not know.

BBB warns of advertising scam in the Northwest

The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about a company claiming to be based out of Vancouver, Washington, that is targeting businesses across the country, including Washington and Oregon.