When you\u2019re a kid watching cartoons, some of the most reliably comedic moments come when characters realize they\u2019ve been hoodwinked. Depending on the character, the result may be an exaggeratedly dropped jaw, a pained facepalm or red-faced, steam-from-the-ears rage \u2014 but no matter what, it\u2019s pretty funny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not funny at all when it happens to you personally, though, even if you feel all of those same responses. Whether you\u2019ve already learned the hard way that your money is gone forever or you\u2019re just beginning to suspect that you\u2019re being played, there are important steps you need to take to protect yourself (and your wallet). Everybody\u2019s individual case will be different, but we\u2019ll go over what those steps typically look like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recognizing you have a problem is the first step in recovery, and everyone is vulnerable to scammers and frauds. In 2020 fraud data released by the FTC<\/a>, 60-something Boomers were indeed the largest single demographic, at 18% of complainants, but 30-something millennials were a close second, at 17% (and those under 30 added up to another 18%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Admittedly, the lion\u2019s share of monetary losses fall on those in the higher age groups who as a rule tend to have more assets. Still, even if you think of yourself as a tech-savvy \u201cdigital native\u201d and spend your days sending links to your parents or grandma about senior scams<\/a>, you\u2019re also at risk. Protecting yourself begins with recognizing the signs of a scammer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are plenty of warning signs that can indicate you\u2019re dealing with a scammer<\/a>, though of course the details will vary with the type of scam: if you look at romance scams<\/a>, phishing scams<\/a>, text scams<\/a>, phone scams<\/a>, Craigslist scams<\/a>, payment-app scams<\/a> or \u2014 since the start of the pandemic \u2014 COVID scams<\/a>, they\u2019re all slightly different in their workings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That being said, all successful scams take advantage of the same handful of psychological vulnerabilities, each of them rooted in human nature. In one way or another, they\u2019ll try to scare us, appeal to our greed, exploit our desire to be helpful or to find meaningful affection or play on our fear of (in some way) missing out. Here are some examples to watch for: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The single biggest category in the FTC\u2019s report was \u201cimposter scams,\u201d the kind where the scammer pretends to be from the Social Security Administration<\/a>, or your bank, or the IRS, or perhaps even the police. There may be a carrot (\u201cyou\u2019re entitled to more money\u201d) or a stick (\u201cyou owe us money,\u201d \u201cyour benefits will be cut off\u201d), but either way they\u2019re after your money or information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scammers want things to happen quickly. They\u2019ll demand you act immediately to settle your account issues or to get the investment opportunity before it\u2019s gone, or \u2014 in the case of romance scams \u2014 they\u2019ll profess undying attachment after a suspiciously brief acquaintance. FOMO (fear of missing out) is a big motivator, and they rely on that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We all know the saying about that, right? The prize in a sweepstakes you don\u2019t remember entering; the remarkable returns on that no-risk investment; the man (or woman) of your dreams who mysteriously can\u2019t meet in person right now; the miraculous cure for your chronic illness that \u201cthey\u201d don\u2019t want you to know about\u2026\u2026 They\u2019re all different expressions of the same basic principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phishing scams, text scams and social media scams<\/a> often start with an apparently legit message from a person or company you know or do business with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The devil is in the details: that familiar-looking website might be fake<\/a>; the email address or phone number might be spoofed; romance scammers\u2019 stories are suspiciously light on verifiable detail; your new follower on social media might be a catfish<\/a> or a synthetic identity<\/a> with a negligible online history and suspiciously perfect photos. These things can all be detected if you look closely; scammers count on you not doing that (it\u2019s part of the reason they want you to act quickly). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sooner or later every scam boils down to one of two targets: your money or your personal information. No matter what the circumstances, any request for one or the other \u2014 however plausible \u2014 should set off alarm bells. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes you\u2019ll be lucky and the proverbial penny will drop \u2014 or at the very least, you\u2019ll become suspicious \u2014 while the scam is still underway. What should you do? In the course of ongoing research earlier this year, Spokeo posed that very question. Responses were mixed enough to suggest that most people aren\u2019t entirely sure how to proceed. Googling your potential scammer<\/a> was the top response, but \u201cPerform a background check,\u201d \u201cCheck social media profiles\u201d and the ever-popular \u201cOther\u201d were also high-scoring choices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So what should<\/em> you do? That depends on the circumstances. There are several possibilities: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The person you\u2019re interacting with has probably given you a name, a phone number, an email address and other information. You can check all of those things using Spokeo\u2019s people search tools<\/a>. If those results show the person to be who and where they claim to be, that\u2019s a positive (they may still be a scammer, but they\u2019re at least honest about their identity). <\/p>\n\n\n\n If their information yields little to no results, or social media accounts that all sprang into existence quite recently, or places them someplace other than where they\u2019ve said they are\u2026well\u2026, those are big red flags. You might want to consider paying a little extra and getting a criminal-records search as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With many scams, especially romance scams and dating-site scams<\/a>, the photos impostorscriminals use are a key vulnerability for them. Obviously they don\u2019t want you seeing their real face, and those pics have to come from somewhere. You can do a Google reverse image search<\/a>, which uses photos instead of keywords, to cross-check them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the photos come from a professional stock-photo library or were stolen from someone else\u2019s social media, or if the same face is on a dozen dating sites with different names, they\u2019re busted. There\u2019s a chance your crush is just married<\/a>, not a scammer, but either way you\u2019ll know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re worried whether a site, company or job offer is legitimate, there are ways to check that as well. For a website, you can look up its ownership at the web\u2019s central domain name registry<\/a>. If the site is brand-new or the ownership info is heavily redacted, those are potential red flags. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For companies, you can check for a business registration in the state where they\u2019re supposedly incorporated, usually at the individual state\u2019s State Department or Secretary of State website. Dodgy-sounding job offers often claim to be from legit employers but aren\u2019t: check the company\u2019s own site to see if similar jobs are listed; or when in doubt, contact the company directly and ask if the job link is legitimate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Phishing attacks usually use malicious links embedded in emails, texts (\u201csmishing,\u201d from \u201cphishing\u201d and the SMS texting protocol), social media messages and chat apps. These appear to come from a friend, or a relative, or a coworker, or a company you legitimately deal with, but often they\u2019re bogus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The simplest way to sidestep this kind of attack is to reach out to the supposed sender through another channel and make sure it\u2019s legitimate before you click it. If the message purportedly directs you to a company\u2019s website to correct a problem, don\u2019t click the link at all: go to the company\u2019s site by typing the correct URL into your browser or using your saved bookmark, then click through to customer service directly. If the supposed issue with your account is nonexistent, you\u2019ve just dodged a scam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re on a phone call and suspect the caller is a scammer, just hang up. If you think there\u2019s any chance the come-on was legitimate, contact the corresponding company, government department or law -enforcement agency directly and ask them. The same goes for text messages and emails. If necessary, block the senders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s harder if you\u2019re engaged with a potential or newly revealed scammer on social media or dating sites, because they\u2019ve probably learned a lot about how to manipulate your feelings. Again, going cold turkey is your best bet. Block and report them on the site, block them on your phone, block them in your email. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The process is different if you\u2019ve already fallen for the scam and lost money as a result. By all means, try the same steps to glean what information you can about the scammer, but that\u2019s secondary: start by reporting the fraud to the various necessary agencies and companies. These include, but aren\u2019t limited to, the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The FTC\u2019s new ReportFraud website<\/a> is a good starting point. Like its sister IdentityTheft.gov<\/a> site, it not only puts your case on the radar, it gives you a plan for your next steps in recovery and damage control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Report your loss to the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)<\/a> and your local law-enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you trusted the wrong person with your credit-card number or your banking PIN? Sent money by wire transfer, payment app or gift card? Reach out to those companies and service providers as soon as possible. In some cases you may be able to get your money back, if you\u2019re quick enough with the request, though the odds are stacked against you (that\u2019s why scammers ask for payment in those specific ways). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some companies may draw a distinction between fraud (where you have no control) and a scam (where you\u2019ve voluntarily, if mistakenly, been a participant). Banks and credit-card providers will usually reverse fraudulent charges or withdrawals, and merchants will refund fraudulent purchases, but that\u2019s not always the case with scams. From the companies\u2019 perspective, it\u2019s not on them to bail out your failure of judgement. It may sound harsh, but it\u2019s understandable (and it means you should really, really<\/em> appreciate any companies that reimburse you). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, if the scam occurred on a major platform \u2014 social media, Craigslist, Amazon, a popular dating site \u2014 inform the platform of the scam and how it happened, including any screenshots or documentation you may have. It\u2019ll help them warn others against falling for the same scam. Reporting to consumer-oriented sites like the BBB Scam Tracker<\/a> or the AARP<\/a> (if applicable) can also be helpful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You should also report your case to the main credit-reporting agencies. You may need to involve them to get charges wiped from your credit file after they\u2019ve been reversed, and you should probably also place a credit freeze<\/a> or extended fraud alert on your file (just in case). <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a few other things you might want to do. There\u2019s always the possibility your scammer might have indulged in a bit of identity theft as well, for example, and there are some extra steps involved in recovering from that. You might also want to consider Spokeo\u2019s identity theft protection service<\/a>, which includes \u201cdark web\u201d monitoring<\/a>: if the scammer offers your information for sale on the web\u2019s seamy underbelly, you\u2019ll hear about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, and most importantly, cultivate good habits online. Change your passwords to make them stronger<\/a>, and keep each one unique (use a password manager, if you have to). Audit your followers<\/a> on social media, keeping an eye out for any possible sock puppets who don\u2019t seem to have a real presence (and think hard about whether your accounts should be private<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most importantly, cultivate an attitude of healthy skepticism.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to be completely paranoid and untrusting, just cautious.\u00a0 Your own judgement is your last line of defense, so use it frequently and deliberately.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re a kid watching cartoons, some of the most reliably comedic moments come when characters realize they\u2019ve been hoodwinked. Depending on the character, the result may be an exaggeratedly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":25466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[614],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safety"],"yoast_head":"\nSigns You\u2019re Being Scammed (\u201cI\u2019ve Got a Bad Feeling About This\u2026\u201d)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
They Impersonate Authority Figures<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
They Create a Sense of Urgency<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s too Good to Be True <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
They Count on You not Paying Attention<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Everything Eventually Comes Back to Your Money or Your Information<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What to Do If You Think You\u2019re Being Scammed Right Now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Verify the Information You\u2019ve Got<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Check the Photos<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Check a Site\u2019s\/Company\u2019s Ownership<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Check With the Supposed Sender of a Link<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Break Contact<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What to Do When You\u2019re Scammed Out of Money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The FTC<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Law Enforcement<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Any Companies Involved<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Credit-Reporting Agencies<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
But Wait, There\u2019s More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n