ARVADA, Colo. — What looked like a harmless invitation to a family gathering turned into weeks of stress and password changes for Arvada resident Alie Mitisek.
“It was a Saturday morning, and I was just looking through my email, and I got an email from Paperless Post from my cousin,” Mitisek said. “Which to me wasn’t a big surprise.”
▶️ Denver7's Jaclyn Allen breaks down the scam and how to protect yourself
Her cousin had recently moved back to Colorado, so the digital invitation did not seem suspicious. But when she clicked on it, the message prompted her to log in.
“So I went ahead and logged in,” she said.
Almost immediately, Google started sending alerts about suspicious activity on her account.
“Oh my gosh, this was totally a scam,” Mitisek said. “It was very eye-opening how quickly they gained access to my account.”
Mitisek is one of several Colorado victims now speaking out about what the Federal Trade Commission calls the “You’re Invited” scam — phishing emails disguised as invitations from popular platforms like Evite and Paperless Post.
The FTC warned in May that scammers are sending fake invitations that appear to come from trusted friends, family members or neighbors. Victims are prompted to enter email passwords, login credentials or security codes to supposedly view party details or RSVP.
Instead, scammers can gain access to email accounts and potentially use them to spread the phishing scam to others in a victim’s contact list.
Mark Fetterhoff, program manager for AARP ElderWatch, said reports of the scam have been spreading across Colorado in recent months.
“Everyone’s getting them,” Fetterhoff said. “We’re hearing about this scam all over.”
He said scammers are exploiting a time of year when people expect digital invitations for graduations, summer barbecues and family gatherings.
“If you don’t see the information about the party right away, and it asks you to log in or enter information, you’re probably involved in one of these scams,” Fetterhoff warned.
Fetterhoff said the messages often appear convincing because they seem to come from real people victims know.
“The two that I received were both people who I definitely know,” he said.
AARP ElderWatch also heard from residents in a local 55-plus community who said similar invitations were circulating among neighbors and social groups.
Mitisek said the experience was especially unsettling because she teaches classes about online safety.
“I felt so violated,” she said. “It was something I didn’t think would ever happen to me.”
She spent weeks changing passwords and locking down accounts after the incident.
Now, she hopes others will learn from her experience and avoid the embarrassment many scam victims feel.
“You can’t be embarrassed because it’s happening to other people,” Mitisek said. “You got to talk about it and let people know that it’s going on.”
The FTC recommends:
- Do not click unexpected invitation links
- Contact the sender directly to verify the invitation is real
- Use two-factor authentication on important accounts
- Change passwords immediately if you think your account was compromised
- Keep devices and security software updated
People can also report phishing emails to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
