Did someone tell you to buy a gift card and give them the PIN numbers to:
– pay the FTC, FBl, or IRS
– keep your Social Security benefits
– keep your utilities on (electricity, water, or heat)
– pay for tech support
– help a family member in trouble
– help a servicemember needing money
– pay bail or ransom
– avoid arrest or deportation
– fix any problem, for any reason?

lf you answered yes, HANG UP. lt’s a scam.
– Report gift card scams to the gift card company.
– Ask for your money back.
– Then tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Contact the gift card company:
Amazon – 888-280-4331
Apple iTunes – 8OO-275-2273
Ebay – ebay.com/giftcardscams
Steam – help.steampowered.com
Target – 800-544-2943
Walmart – 888-537-5503

An IRS scam is when someone contacts you pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service (lRS). They falsely say that you owe taxes and must pay them immediately or face serious penalties. Test your knowledge to protect yourself and loved ones.

Here’s a list of common tactics used by scammers.

– Yell at or insult you.
– Threaten to deport, arrest, or jail you.
– Send you a bill through the U.S. Postal Service first to let you know you owe taxes.
– Ask for tax payment by email, text message, or through social media.
– Offer you an opportunity to question or appeal the amount of taxes you owe.
– Request tax payment by gift cards, prepaid debit cards, or wire transfer.
– lnstruct you to make payments to the United States Treasury.

Now you know that the IRS will NEVER:
– Call to demand immediate payment by u prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer.
– Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested or deported for not paying.
– Demand payment without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
– Contact taxpayers by email, text message, or through social media to request personal or financial information such as PlNs or, passwords credit card, bank or other accounts.

Report it!
– lf you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
– Report possible IRS scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484 and to FTC.gov/comptaint.
– lf you get an email from someone claiming to be from the lRS, don’t open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. lnstead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.

Scammers might promise you a job, lots of money, or work you can do at home. But they make you pay them before they help you. lf you pay them, you will lose your money and will not get a job.

How do I spot a job scam?

Look for these signs of a scam. Scammers might:
– promise you a job
– promise you a governmentjob
– offer you the secret to getting a job
– promise that you will make lots of money by working at home
– offer you a certificate to improve your chances of getting a job

Scammers always will ask you to pay first. That is the biggest sign of any scam. Never pay in advance. Someone might say you cannot lose. lt is not true. You will lose money.

How can I avoid a job scam?

– Never deal with anyone who promises you a job. No one can promise you a job,
– Do not pay in advance for information about a job. Even if there is a money-back guarantee
– Do not deal with anyone who says you have to act fast.
– lgnore promises to make thousands of dollars working in your own home. Those promises are lies.

What if I already paid someone but I did not get anything?

lf you sent money and did not get help finding a job, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
– Call the FTC at 1-A77-3A2-4357
– Go online: 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’