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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">Recognizing these common signs of a scam could help you avoid one.</p>
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<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color has-extra-large-font-size">Four Signs That It’s a Scam</h2>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>1. Scammers PRETEND to be from an organization you know.</strong></p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">Scammers often pretend to be contacting you on behalf of the government. They might use a real name, like the Social Security Administration, the IRS, or Medicare, or make up a name that sounds official. Some pretend to be from a business you know, like a utility company, a tech company, or even a charity asking for donations.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">They use technology to change the phone number that appears on your caller ID. So the name and number you see might not be real.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>2. Scammers say there’s a PROBLEM or a PRIZE.</strong></p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">They might say you’re in trouble with the government. Or you owe money. Or someone in your family had an emergency. Or that there’s a virus on your computer.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">Some scammers say there’s a problem with one of your accounts and that you need to verify some information.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">Others will lie and say you won money in a lottery or sweepstakes but have to pay a fee to get it.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>3. Scammers PRESSURE you to act immediately.</strong></p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">Scammers want you to act before you have time to think. If you’re on the phone, they might tell you not to hang up so you can’t check out their story.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">They might threaten to arrest you, sue you, take away your driver’s or business license, or deport you. They might say your computer is about to be corrupted.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>4. Scammers tell you to PAY in a specific way.</strong></p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">They often insist that you pay by using cryptocurrency, by wiring money through a company like MoneyGram or Western Union, or by putting money on a gift card and then giving them the number on the back.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">Some will send you a check (that will later turn out to be fake), then tell you to deposit it and send them money.</p>
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<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color has-extra-large-font-size"><a></a>How To Avoid a Scam</h2>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>Block unwanted calls and text messages. </strong>Take steps to block unwanted calls and to filter unwanted text messages.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>Don’t give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect.</strong>&nbsp;Honest organizations won’t call, email, or text to ask for your personal information, like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">If you get an email or text message from a company you do business with and you think it’s real, it’s still best not to click on any links. Instead, contact them using a website you know is trustworthy. Or look up their phone number. Don’t call a number they gave you or the number from your caller ID.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>Resist the pressure to act immediately.&nbsp;</strong>Honest businesses will give you time to make a decision. Anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information is a scammer.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>Know how scammers tell you to pay. </strong>Never pay someone who insists you pay with cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, or a gift card. And never deposit a check and send money back to someone.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>Stop and talk to someone you trust.&nbsp;</strong>Before you do anything else, tell someone — a friend, a family member, a neighbor — what happened. Talking about it could help you realize it’s a scam.</p>
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<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color has-extra-large-font-size"><a></a>Report Scams to the FTC</h2>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">If you were scammed or think you saw a scam, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.</p>
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<p>To read the full article, <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam#:~:text=Block%20unwanted%20calls%20and%20text,that%20you%20didn%27t%20expect.">click here.</a></p>
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