Overall tips and red flags to look out for:

• Scammers can spoof phone numbers. They can even spoof official phone numbers and make it look like they’re calling from your bank, the IRS, your local Sheriff’s office, etc.
• Government entities will NEVER call you and ask you for confidential information. Companies rarely do either. They will contact you through snail mail. If someone calls you asking for something that makes you uncomfortable, tell them you will call them back and then get the phone number directly from the official website, not in Google/Bing/Yahoo search, or any website that was given to you on the call.
• Scammers sometimes buy ads through Google/Bing/Yahoo so their fraudulent website appears on top when you search for whoever the scammer is claiming to be.
• If anyone calls you and asks you to read them a verification code that was texted to you, hang up. They’re trying to hack into one of your accounts.
• If anyone calls you and asks “can you hear me?” or a question that would warrant “yes” as the obvious response, hang up. Scammers will record you saying “yes” and will use that as verification that you agreed to a purchase or credit card charge.

Tech Support Scams
The scammer will claim to be from Microsoft, Dell, or another tech company. They will say that you have a virus on your computer or that hackers have accessed your computer. They will offer to “fix” the problem and walk you through steps that gives the scammer remote access to your computer. Many scammers will even spend several minutes doing various tasks to make it look like they’re actually helping you. They will ask for payment for “fixing” your problem. They may offer a PC protection service that you have to pay for as well. If you do not pay, they use their remote access to lock you out of your computer until you give them the money.

IRS Scams
The scammer will claim to be from the IRS and that you underpaid on your taxes. They will often say that the IRS is suing you and that there is a warrant out for your arrest. They will offer to drop charges and “cancel” the warrant if you pay them the amount owed.

Refund scams
This one comes in many varieties, but they will claim that you’re getting a large refund from a company. They will walk you through steps that gives them remote access to your computer and ask you to log into your bank account. They will “transfer the refund” by editing the code on your banking website and make it look like they accidentally transferred more money than you were owed. They will demand that you transfer the extra money back to them, but they never actually gave you any money. They will typically lock you out of your computer if you refuse to pay.

Jury Duty Scams
The scammer will say that you failed to appear for jury duty and that there’s a warrant out for your arrest. They will offer to let you pay a fine to avoid arrest. This one is very sophisticated, they will often mention a real Sheriff’s office or courthouse near you and may even know the name of the Sheriff or judge that works there.

Family emergency scams
The scammer will pretend to be a family member or that they’re calling on behalf of a family member that needs money for an emergency.

Utilities Scam
The scammer will claim to be from your power, water, or any other utility company and threaten to shut off your service if you don’t pay.

Bank Scams
You will get a call from a bank. This is another one that comes in multiple different variations. They will either say that you qualify for a lower interest rate or that there has been fraudulent activity on your account. They will ask you to verify private banking information.

Jackpot Scams
The scammer will tell you that you won a cruise, a foreign lottery, or something of significant value. They will often use this to get personal information, but this usually evolves into a fake check scam (see below).

Fake Check Scam
The scammer will send you a check in the mail for a multitude of different reasons. The check will look legitimate, and when you cash the check, the funds will immediately appear in your bank account. The scammer will ask you to send them part of that money. A few days later, the bank will catch that the check is fake and will deduct the funds from your account.