SAN DIEGO - African-Americans are losing more money on identity theft scams than other ethnicities.
A new report by the Identity Theft Resource Center and the Black Researchers Collective shows 22 percent of African-Americans said they were scammed out $500 to $999 compared to five percent of the reports' overall complaints.
“We’re not aware of all the pitfalls that many others have been aware of this entire time,” Derrick Banks, owner of Freshly Faded Barber Shop in North Park, told NBC 7. "“We’ll say, ‘it’s just another loss,’ but the thing about us is our resiliency and how we turn losses into lessons."
Better messaging and outreach strategies are needed to keep communities of color informed about the scams.
“We need to go to faith-based organizations or maybe senior centers, or other community groups that have good standing,” said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
The report also shows only 50 percent of Black victims report their losses to law enforcement.
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