Fresh Year, Familiar Fraud: Your Guide to Staying Safe

Protecting yourself and your loved ones from fraudulent schemes begins with understanding common scam tactics. By recognizing these warning signs, you can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a victim:

• Unexpected contact: Anytime you receive a phone call, email, text, or mail demanding personal information or urging you to click unknown links, it’s a red flag. Your first sign to be cautious is that they contacted you.
• Requests for personal information: Immediately halt the conversation when someone asks for your account numbers, social security number, PINs, or a verification code. To verify the contact’s legitimacy, reach out directly via official contact information from verified sources.
• Urgency: Scammers rely on creating a sense of urgency to provoke emotional, impulsive reactions. Reputable businesses will never demand immediate action, pressure you to make instant decisions, or rush you into providing payment or sensitive information.
• Unusual payment methods: Be suspicious if you’re asked to pay a bill or purchase goods with gift cards, prepaid cards, digital currency, or through digital payment apps like PayPal or Cash App. If you’re a seller and you’re paid more than you’re owed and asked to send back the excess, the buyer is trying to pull a fast one.
• Offers that seem too good to be true: If you’re offered an opportunity to get rich quick, claim a mysterious lottery prize, or cash an unexpected check from a stranger, think again. And if you’ve recently found your perfect romantic match online, be wary of a sudden, urgent request for money or gift cards. Unfortunately, your new sweetie may not be who you think they are at all.

Remember that many scams are designed to target large numbers of people in the hope that even a small percentage will fall victim. Your best protection is vigilance:

• Pause before responding to unsolicited contact
• Verify the identity of anyone requesting money or personal information
• Trust your instincts if something feels off
• Take time to think critically before taking any action

Stay alert, stay informed, and keep yourself and your loved ones safe from potential scams. Learn more and get helpful fraud prevention resources here.