Scams reach people in a lot of different ways — a phone call, a text, an email, an ad, even a knock on the door. The channel changes constantly. But according to the FTC, a handful of patterns show up again and again, regardless of how the scam arrives. Not every scam uses all four — but if you notice even one, it's worth slowing down.
Scammers often say they're calling on behalf of the government or a business you recognize — the FTC, the Social Security Administration, the IRS, Medicare, a utility company, or a charity. Sometimes they use a real name. Sometimes they invent one that just sounds official.
The message says you're in trouble with the government, that you owe money, that a family member had an emergency, or that your computer has a virus. Or it swings the other way entirely: you've won a lottery or sweepstakes, but you have to pay a fee first to collect it.
Honest organizations give you time to think. Scammers don't want that — they want you to act before you have a chance to verify anything or talk to someone you trust.
Cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service, a payment app, or a gift card where you read the numbers off the back — these payment methods are hard to trace and hard to reverse. Be especially cautious when someone insists that you pay by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or another hard-to-reverse method — particularly when they pressure you to act immediately.
These four signs aren't a checklist a scam has to complete. A real scam might only show one or two of them clearly. That's exactly why they're useful as instincts to notice, not a form to fill out before you decide something's wrong.
If you spot any of these signs, the FTC's advice is simple: stop, and talk to someone you trust — a friend, a family member, a neighbor — before doing anything else. Talking it through often makes it obvious that something's off.
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Based on the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Advice, “How To Avoid a Scam” (consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam).