University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Volume 54 2021 Impostor Scams David Adam Friedman Willamette University Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr Part of the Internet Law Commons, and the Torts Commons Recommended Citation David A. Friedman, Impostor Scams, 54 U. MICH. J. L. REFORM 611 (2021). Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol54/iss3/3 https://doi.org/10.36646/mjlr.54.3.imposter This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. IMPOSTOR SCAMS David Adam Friedman* ABSTRACT Impostor scams have recently become the most common type of consumer scam in America, surpassing identity theft. It has never been easier and more profitable to be an impostor scammer. Though the core of these scams dates back centuries, these fraudsters consistently find novel ways to manipulate human motives and emotions. Nonetheless, the public should not give up hope. Policymakers and private actors can slow down this scourge if they focus on the key chokepoints that impostor scammers rely upon to achieve their ends. This Article provides a roadmap for a solution to impostor scams, offering specific suggestions for mitigating this fraud today, while advocating the adoption of a “least-cost avoider” approach to address the whole of the ongoing problem.