Recognizing and Responding to a Scam or Fraud Attempt thorough essential A phased checklist for spotting scam warning signs, verifying suspicious contacts, and acting quickly if you've already been scammed.
Scams | Consumer Advice (FTC)1 · How To Avoid a Scam | Consumer Advice (FTC)2 · How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams | Consumer Advice (FTC)3 · How you can recognize and avoid a scam (and help others) | Consumer Advice (FTC)4 · Recognizing Scams | Federal Trade Commission OIG5 · From the FTC: What are the signs of a scam? | New Hampshire Banking Department6 · suggest an edit
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Phase 1: Spot the Warning Signs (in the moment) Treat unexpected contact as suspicious Don't respond to unexpected calls, emails, texts, or social media messages that ask for money or personal information. Notice pressure to act "right now" Legitimate businesses give you time to decide; anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information is a scammer. Distrust threats or "protect your money" language The FTC will never threaten you, say you must transfer your money to "protect it," or tell you to withdraw cash or buy gold and give it to someone; that's a scam. Treat any caller making these claims as fraudulent. Flag demands for cryptocurrency, wire transfers, gift cards, or check-deposit-and-refund schemes 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. Recognize government/company impersonation tactics Scammers often claim to represent an agency or business, using a real or invented name, and use technology to change the phone number that appears on your caller ID so the call may appear legitimate, and say you're in trouble with the government, or you owe money, or someone in your family had an emergency. Question anyone who tells you to hide the call from others A helpful "agent" warning you not to talk to anyone or search the internet is a major red flag, per FTC guidance on tech-support and refund scams. Don't click links or open attachments from unverified senders If you get an email or a text message that asks you to click on a link or open an attachment, ask whether you actually have an account with that company or know the person contacting you; if not, it could be phishing.
Phase 2: Verify Before You Act
Phase 3: If You Already Paid or Shared Information — Act Fast Stop all further payment or contact immediately End the call, don't send additional funds, and don't confirm any information already requested. Contact your bank or card issuer right away Attempt to reverse a payment, freeze the card, or dispute a wire transfer — speed matters since many payment methods (wire, crypto, gift cards) are difficult or impossible to reverse after a short window. Call the retailer's fraud line and give them the card number/PIN if sent gift card Some can still freeze the balance if reported quickly. Contact the wire service immediately to request a reversal if sent wire transfer E.g., Western Union, MoneyGram. Change passwords immediately and enable multi-factor authentication on every affected account If you shared passwords or account access. Disconnect the device from the internet, run a security scan, and consider a factory reset or professional check if scammer gained remote access Before using it for banking again. Take identity-theft recovery stepsif shared ssn or id data Freeze credit, monitor accounts — this exposure can enable long-term identity theft, not just a one-time loss.
Phase 4: Report and Recover
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