How to Spot a Scam
Almost everyone I know has falled for at least one of these and lost loads of money. Here's how to make sure you're not one of them.
Scammers tell all kinds of stories to try to get their grubby, good-for-nothing hands on your hard-earned money or information. At best, they waste your time. At worst, they rob you blind.
No form of communication is off-limits for these people. From now on, anything that even remotely smells like a scam (any unsolicited message of any kind, really) probably is one:
You get a call pretending to be from a government agency, and someone says you owe a fine = SCAM
You get a text saying that you’re late to pay a common bill (think Toll or electric payment) = SCAM
You get an email saying you are being watched and have been caught watching porn = SCAM
Scammers also follow the news. Taxes, food stamps, layoffs — any kind of disasters — all of these are ripe for the predator-picking.
Though the details might change, scams usually have some things in common. And knowing what they are can help you recognize — and then avoid — scams that come your way.
🚨 Scammers contact you unexpectedly. Don’t respond to unexpected calls, emails, texts, or social media messages that ask for money or personal information. If you’re not sure if a call or message is real, reach out to the business, organization, or person DIRECTLY — even if they’re claiming to be a friend or relative — using contact information you looked up yourself and know to be true.
🚨 Scammers tell you to hurry. They don’t want you to have time to think or to check out their story. So slow down. Talk to someone you trust.
🚨 Scammers tell you to pay — and HOW to pay. Don’t pay anyone who contacts you out of the blue and insists you can only pay with cash, a gift card, a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app. Scammers want you to pay these ways because once you do, it’s hard to track and hard to get your money back.
If you’ve lost money to a scam, reach out to the company you used to send the money right away and see if there’s a way to get it back. Then report the scammer at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Want to see some scammer payback? Here is one of my all-time favorites: