Recognizing Scams
Scams are not random. They follow predictable patterns — urgency, authority, and a specific payment request. Once you recognize the pattern, the disguise stops working.
Attackers do not break in — they talk their way in. Phishing emails, fake support calls, and impersonation scams all rely on the same mechanics: create urgency, borrow a trusted name, and move fast before you think it through. No amount of security software protects against following a link you believed was legitimate.
Acting because a message feels urgent, or because it appears to come from a familiar source. The urgency is the tactic. The familiar name is borrowed, not real. A message that demands you act immediately — pay now, verify now, click now or lose access — is designed specifically to prevent you from verifying it.
Pause before you click, reply, or call back. Go directly to the source instead of following anything in the message — type the real website address yourself, or call the real number from the organization's official site. Real organizations do not ask for gift cards, wire transfers, or codes sent to your phone as a form of payment. If a message asks for any of those, it is a scam.
If you have a suspicious message and want a second read on it, use the labs below. Paste the message text and get a plain-English breakdown of what patterns it matches.
Most people can identify a scam if they slow down long enough to look.
- 1.Find one recent message — text, email, or voicemail — you were unsure about and check the sender details carefully
- 2.Look up any phone number or email in a suspicious message in a search engine to see if it is flagged
- 3.Save the FTC fraud report link — reportfraud.ftc.gov — so you have it if you need it
- 4.Tell one person in your household what the gift card and wire transfer red flags look like
- 5.If you receive a suspicious call, hang up and call back using the number on the organization's official website