Always Be On Scam Alert
Criminal scamming organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and aggressive. Any time someone, or an organization, reaches out to you asking for either urgent action from you or for any personal information, please stop any contact.
Here are some of the most common frauds happening today and what you can do to protect yourself — and your assets.
Warning Signs
- Unusual Payment Demands: Never pay for prizes, services, or bills using wire transfers, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or payment apps like Zelle with strangers.
- Urgency & High Pressure: Be suspicious of callers or emails demanding immediate action to avoid fines, arrest, or missed opportunities.
- Impersonation: Fraudsters routinely spoof caller IDs, email addresses, and logos to masquerade as trusted organizations like your bank, the police, or government agencies.
Common Scams
- Internal Revenue Service payment requests
- Social Security scams that pressure you to take action
- Law enforcement investigations over the phone
- Bill collection requests with threats or requests for payment with pre-paid cards
- Online purchases for goods from unknown sellers (vehicles, puppies, etc.)
- Lottery or prize winnings where money is required to claim the prize
- Grants or personal loans offered from unfamiliar banks or companies
- Requests to cash or deposit checks from unknown sources
- Offers for employment where the potential employee is required to buy something and/or is promised to be reimbursed.
Phone call scams:
- Caller claims to be the IRS/Border Patrol/FBI and you have been linked to crimes out of state.
- Caller claims they are your grandchild/family member and they need bail money immediately.
- Caller claims they are from the local Police Department, Sheriff’s office, or another law enforcement agency and a warrant is out for your arrest over missed jury duty/unpaid fines etc.
- Caller claims they are from a company following up about suspicious activity on an account (this could be your bank, Amazon, iTunes, PayPal, or other account).
Email Scams
Scammers can easily lift company logos from online and create emails that look like they are from legitimate company or organization, so be sure to take the following action:
- Do not open an unfamiliar email as it may include malicious links that go to a compromised website hosting malware.
- Be aware of the email address the email is coming from. Sometimes this can be an easy way to spot a scam.
- Do not respond to the request.
- Do not click on any links.
- Do not open any attachments.
- Do not provide any personal information.
Text Scams
Criminals like scams through texts, as consumers tend to be more inclined to trust text messages.
- Do not open an unfamiliar text as it may include malicious links that go to a compromised website hosting malware.
- Block the number (see your phone provider for details on how to do this if you don’t know how)
- Do not respond to the request.
- Do not click on any links.
- Do not open any attachments.
- Do not provide any personal information.
Essential Safety Practices
- Verify Directly: Never click links in unexpected emails or texts. Instead, independently contact the organization using a phone number or website you know is legitimate (e.g., from an official statement or the company’s verified homepage).
- Protect Personal Data: Honest organizations will not call, text, or email you out of the blue to ask for your Social Security number, passwords, or bank details.
- Stop and Consult: If you receive a suspicious message or phone call, pause and discuss it with a trusted friend or family member before making any financial decisions. [FBI website to report fraud]
How to Avoid a Scam
- Block unwanted calls and text messages. Take steps to block unwanted calls and to filter unwanted text messages.
- Don’t give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect.Honest organizations won’t call, email, or text to ask for your personal information, like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
- If you get an email or text message from a company you do business with and you think it’s real, it’s still best not to click on any links. Instead, contact them using a website you know is trustworthy. Or look up their phone number. Don’t call a number they gave you or the number from your caller ID.
- Resist the pressure to act immediately. Honest businesses will give you time to make a decision. Anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information is a scammer.
- Know how scammers tell you to pay. Never pay someone who insists that you can only pay with cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, a payment app, or a gift card. And never deposit a check and send money back to someone.
- Stop and talk to someone you trust. Before you do anything else, tell someone — a friend, a family member, a neighbor — what happened. Talking about it could help you realize it’s a scam.
Resources for Reporting
If you suspect you are the target of a scam or have fallen victim to fraud, please reach out immediately to your financial institutions, including your investment and regular bank and credit card companies, and ask them to put a block on your accounts until you know you are safe.
Here are official resources to get help:
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The primary federal agency for consumer protection offering comprehensive advice on how to spot and avoid scams.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Actionable steps to take if you notice unauthorized bank transactions or suspect financial exploitation.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): The official portal to report internet-enabled crimes and online fraud. Rapid reporting can help in the recovery of lost funds.
- Fraud.org: A watchdog project by the National Consumers League that tracks scam trends and counseling.