Scammers may offer you job opportunities, high earnings, or the chance to work from home, but they will require you to pay upfront before they help you. If you pay them, you will lose your money and won’t get a job.

To identify a job scam, be on the lookout for these warning signs. Scammers may promise you a job, claim they have access to a government job, or even suggest they have the secret to landing a job. They might guarantee you’ll make a lot of money working from home or offer you a certificate that they claim will boost your chances of getting hired. The key red flag is that scammers will always ask you to pay upfront. Never pay in advance. They may claim you can’t lose, but this is a lie—you will lose your money.

To avoid a job scam, never trust anyone who promises you a job. No one can guarantee you a position. Don’t pay upfront for job information, even if they offer a money-back guarantee. Avoid anyone who pressures you to act quickly. Lastly, ignore claims that you can make thousands of dollars working from home—they are lies.

If you’ve already sent money and didn’t receive any job assistance, you should report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can call the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or report it online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Here’s how they work:

You get a call: “Grandma, I need money for bail.” Or money for a medical bill Or some other kind of trouble. The caller says it’s urgent – and tells you to keep it a secret.

But is the caller who you think it is? Scammers are good at pretending to be someone they’re not. They can be convincing: sometimes using information from social networking sites, or hacking into your loved one’s email account, to make it seem more real. And they’ll pressure you to send money before you have time to think.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Stop. Check it out. Look up your grandkid’s phone number yoursell or call another family member.

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You may not have gotten one of these calls, but chances are you know someone who will get one – if they haven’t already.

Here’s how they work:

Someone contacts you on social media – and they’re interested in getting to know you. Or maybe you meet someone special on a dating website or mobile app. Soon the person wants to write to you directly or start talking on the phone. They say it’s true love, but they live far away – maybe because of work, or because they’re in the military.

Then they start asking for money. Maybe it’s for a plane ticket to visit you. Or emergency surgery. Or something else urgent.

Scammers of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations make fake profiles, sometimes using photos of other people – even stolen pictures of real military personnel. They build relationships – some even pretend to plan weddings – before they disappear with your money.

Here’s what to do:

1. Stop. Don’t send money. Never send cash, or send money using gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or a payment app to an online love interest. Once you pay this way, it’s hard to get your money back.

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You may not have gotten tangled up with a romance scam, but chances are, you know someone who will – if they haven’t already.

Here’s how they work:

You get a call or message from someone who says they’re a computer technician. Or a number appears in a pop-up message on your screen. Or maybe you’re looking for tech suppoft and call a number you find in a search engine. The person on the phone says they’re from a well-known company like Microsoft or Apple. And they tell you about viruses or other malware on your computer. Maybe they’ll ask you for remote access to your computer or say you must buy new software to fix it. But are they someone you can trust? Judging by reports to the Federal Trade Commission, no. Tech support scammers will try to sell you useless services, steal your credit card number, or get access to your computer to install malware, which could then let them see everything on your computer (including your account passwords).

Here’s what to do:

1. Hang up. lf you get an unexpected call from someone saying there’s a problem with a computer – hang up, it’s a scam. lf you need tech help, go to someone you know and trust – and call them at a phone number you know to be true (the ones that show up in your search engine aren’t always legit).

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You might know these are scammers, but chances are, you know someone who doesn’t.

You want to send money to someone in another country. Sometimes, this is called wiring
money. Wiring money is just like sending cash.

Before You Wire Money:
A business that wires money for you charges a fee to send that money. Before you pay to send money, ask the business these questions:
– How much money will my family or friend get?
– Will my family or friend get money in US dollars, or in local money?

Write this information down. Visit a few businesses that wire money overseas. Compare the cost of one money wiring business to another. Each business might charge a different price. lf the business will not answer these questions, think about going to another business.

When you choose the money wiring business you will use, make sure the cost is the same as the business told you. After you send the money, keep your receipt. You will need it if something goes wrong.

After You Wire Money:
Find out if your family or friend got the money you sent. Find out if they got the right amount. lf they did not get the amount you sent, report it right away:
– First, report it to the money wiring business.
– Then, if the business does not solve the problem, report it to the Federal Trade
Commission. Call 1-877-382-4357, or go to ftc’sov/complaint’

How To Recognize Fraudulent Texts And Protect Yourself:

Think back on the number of times your bank has sent you unsolicited texts in the past year. Hold that number in your head. Now, if your bank sent you an unexpected text today, asking if you wired $7,500 to someone, would you consider that business as usual? Probably not. Unfortunately, bank impersonators are increasingly becoming more common. Fraudulent bank text messages are on the rise, representing the most common type of text messaging scams now reported to the Federal Trade Commission. And these scams are getting very sophisticated. In 2022, American consumers lost more than $330 million to these “smishing” attacks – a mash-up of SMS and phishing. In the same year, 76% of all organizations experienced smishing cybercrimes, IBM reports. Fortunately, you are equipped to stay two steps ahead of fraudsters. Here’s how to smish-proof yourself.

If you receive a text alleging to be your financial institution, do not click on any of the links and do not respond. You should “report junk” on an iPhone or “report spam” on an Android phone. Block the contact from messaging you again, and then call your bank directly.

6 Tell-Tale Ways To Spot A Text Scammer:

If you receive a random text from your bank that includes an urgent request, information about a new product, and/or an embedded link, do not consider it business as usual. Consider it a potential scam.

Here are six fast ways to tell when a “bank” text doesn’t pass the smish test:

You don’t recognize the number, kinda. If the number attached to the text is not identified as one of your contacts, don’t trust it. But do check the number carefully – smishers use spoofing software and technologies to create fake numbers that look a lot like ones you know – including your own phone number.

It includes a tempting link. A link should always be a red flag. A hoax link or attachment might take you to a phishing website designed to collect more information from you (like a password), or download malware that will spy on your online activity and steal sensitive data from your device. Do not click anything. The website may even look legitimate, so make sure you check the URL to ensure that it is actually your bank’s website. Another way to test if a site is legitimate is to exit the site and enter your bank’s website how you normally would and attempt to find the page from the text.

The texter wants to “confirm” your deets. A text that asks to verify any personal information, even a phone number or transaction, is suspect. The sender is looking for information to access your bank account. Your bank would not request sensitive info in a text.

It’s hair-on-fire urgent. Scammers strive to trigger alarm and force action. If a message demands an immediate response – it might, for example, tell you to contact a linked “bank representative” to clear up suspicious activity – the only immediate action you should take is to report it.

It gets a “C” in grammar. Uncommon wording and spelling mistakes are a common giveaway of fraud texts – think “kindly” instead of “please” and mixing plurals and singulars. Also, a scam is more likely to be overly familiar (Hey, Bill!) or overly formal (Dear sir or madam). It’s important to know that as artificial intelligence becomes more commonly used to write emails, the grammar may not have as many mistakes as it used to.

It’s giving you a deal! Any message that appears too good to be true is, well, you know the rest. Your bank is not permitted to send you promotional materials unless you’ve opted to receive them. It also wouldn’t alert you via text if you had a sudden windfall.

Protect Your Account From Text Scammers: 3 Guidelines

If you receive a text alleging to be your financial institution, do not click on any of the links and do not respond. Report these texts using the report spam prompts on your phone, block the contact from messaging you again, and then call your bank directly (use the number on the back of your bank card or from its website). Remember, these text messages are designed to make someone panic so they act quickly without thinking. Take a moment to pause before acting.

In the meantime, these guidelines can protect you from becoming a target of smish scammers.

1. Ask your phone to protect you. Devices that use Apple or Android operating systems are equipped to filter out suspicious texts and unknown numbers (check your settings). Many major wireless providers also offer services to block or flag calls. Lastly, install two-factor authentication on your accounts to ensure security.

2. Ignore the sender. If you are not 101% sure of a text’s sender, do not respond, even to type “Stop” or “No.” Once you do, you’ve confirmed you are active on the device and an imposter pretending to be a bank representative will call and request more information, or the scammer will sell your active number on the Dark Web.

3. Keep your numbers to yourself. Never share account numbers, card numbers, social security number, or even your birth date with an unconfirmed contact. Personal identity details can be used to cobble together a fraud profile of you. Your financial institutions already have this information on file.

Examine the car reader for signs of tampering.

• Try jiggling the card reader to see if it’s loose and look for signs of glue around reader to spot a skimmer.
• If the keypad feels “off” or the buttons are unusually spongy or uneven, the keypad may be fake. Sometimes, thieves will put a fake key pad over the real pad to capture your PIN number.
• There is tape sticking out from under the reader.
• The reader is skewed or hanging off to the side.
• A loose piece of plastic, or wires sticking out from the reader.

Here’s how they work:

Someone knocks on your door or calls you. They say they can fix your leaky roof, install new windows, or provide the latest energy-efficient solar panels. They might find you after a flood, windstorm or other natural disaster. They pressure you to act quickly, might ask you to pay in cash, or offer to get
you financing.

But here’s what happens next: they run off with your money and never make the repairs. Or they do shoddy repairs that make things worse. Maybe they even put you in a bad financing agreement that puts your house at risk.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Stop. Check it out. Before making home repairs, ask for references, licenses and insurance. Get three written estimates. Don’t start work until you have a signed contract. And don’t pay by cash or wire transfer.

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You may see through these scams. But chances are you know someone who could use a friendly reminder.

Here’s how they work:

You get a card, a call, or an email telling you that you won! Maybe it’s a trip or a prize, a lottery or a sweepstakes. The person calling is so excited and can’t wait for you to get your winnings.

But here’s what happens next: they tell you there’s a fee, some taxes, or customs duties to pay. And then they ask for your credit card number or bank account information, or they ask you to wire money.

Either way, you lose money instead of winning it. You don’t ever get that big prize. Instead, you get more requests for money, and more promises that you won big.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Keep your money – and your information – to yourself. Never share your financial information with someone who contacts you and claims to need it. And never wire money to anyone who asks you to.

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You probably throw away these kinds of scams or hang up when you get these calls. But you probably know someone who could use a friendly reminder.