Make fraud a losing proposition by identifying scams before they start | James Brown

Financial fraud has become a lucrative criminal enterprise. According to the FBI, cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of $21 billion in 2025 alone. Tragically, that figure includes more than $53 million stolen from Montanans.

Scammers exploit our trusting, friendly nature to drain the accounts of unsuspecting victims. As state auditor, I’m responsible for protecting Treasure State consumers against bad actors operating in the securities and insurance spaces.

During my 20 months in office, I’ve made fraud awareness and prevention a top priority for my agency. Indeed, the best way to stop scams is to know how to spot them. While fraudsters often target seniors, any person of any age can be defrauded. Perpetrators use many different tactics to trick victims, but there are some common elements to look for:

• Scammers often pretend to be a trustworthy official, like a government agent, to pressure victims into acting. They also frequently build fake friendships or romantic relationships with victims before defrauding them.

• Scammers often promise to solve a problem or provide a financial reward. Common schemes include telling a victim they have computer issues that need fixed, a warrant for their arrest that needs cleared, or a cash prize that needs redeemed.

• Scammers often create emotionally charged scenarios that require the victim to act urgently, depriving the intended victim of time to think, ask questions or seek help. However, some schemes involve building a phony relationship with a victim over months or even years before defrauding them.

• Scammers often request unusual methods of payments, such as gift cards or cryptocurrency ATMs, to conceal the transactions and avoid oversight.

If you receive an unsolicited call, text, email or pop-up with the above warning signs and think it’s a scam, please stop what you’re doing, drop communication with the scammer, and report the incident to the State Auditor’s Office or another law enforcement agency. We’re here to help people who get tangled in the web of economic deception spun by fraudsters.

Fraud only flourishes in the dark, so reporting is critical. The more we know about current fraud tactics, the more we can do to combat them. Timely reporting also helps to ensure we help victims financially recover by connecting them to Montana’s securities fraud restitution fund.

Montanans can contact my team by calling 406-444-2040 or by going online to csimt.gov, where we share information and resources designed to keep people from being conned in the first place.

I’m honored to join fellow Republicans, including Attorney General Austin Knudsen, in busting the booming fraud industry, which helps to keep life affordable. After all, every dollar in fraud loss that’s prevented is a dollar kept in the pocket of an American who rightfully earned it.