It's Discount Week! 🎁 Pick up new Marketplace gear at a discount when you donate today! Get My Gear!

A global update on bad actors in cryptocurrency

Economic sanctions, as well as frauds and scams, tend to drive illicit crypto activity in the countries where it's most prevalent.
Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Have you been texted a suspiciously good job offer?

Jul 11, 2024
One scam that’s been around for a while — but is quickly adapting to new technology — targets job seekers.
Daily earnings ranging from $50 to $10,000? If a suspicious job offer or inquiry sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Dylan Miettinen/Marketplace

Why fake robocalls are sounding more and more real — and what's being done about it

How can consumers protect themselves from malicious AI? We'll dig in.
During New Hampshire's primary, some voters received phone calls that imitated President Joe Biden's voice and discouraged people from heading to the polls.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Your scam stories

Oct 30, 2023
Econ Extra Credit newsletter #172: Readers share their cautionary tales and we provide some tips on how to protect yourself.
A telemarketer points out immigrant-owned businesses that have supported police groups out of fear or a misguided belief they would receive protection.
“Telemarketers”/HBO

For public good, not for profit.

A big-time scam

Oct 2, 2023
Econ Extra Credit newsletter #168
Courtesy HBO

AI amplifies scam calls and other deceptions

The technology's ability to clone voices and likenesses makes authentication harder but more urgent, says Wasim Khaled of Blackbird.AI.
People have received calls from what sounds like a relative asking for money, but the voice was generated by artificial intelligence in a fraudulent scheme.
Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images Plus

Financial losses from romance scams add up

Reported romance scam losses in 2022 were $1.3 billion, but that's likely an undercount.
Many online scammers are running multiple cons at once, including romance scams.
celiaosk via Getty Images