Slow down. That's how you beat a scam.

A web page shows a fake error, or a fake "prove you're not a robot" check, and tells you to copy a command, paste it into a box on your computer (like PowerShell or the Run box), and run it to "fix" the problem. The pasted command is the trap — it quietly installs harmful software, and because you ran it yourself, it slips past your browser's normal download protections.

The rule: No real website will ever ask you to paste and run a command. Google says it plainly: "Chrome will never ask you to repair it in this manner."

If it happens to you: Close the page. If you already ran a command like this, disconnect that computer from the internet, don't log into banking from it until it's been checked, and change important passwords from a clean device. One real protection: in Chrome, turn on Enhanced Protection (Settings → Privacy and security → Security → Enhanced protection) — Chrome can now warn you about suspicious copied commands before you run them.

Report scam pages at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and IC3.gov.

How it works: A call or voicemail says it's a sheriff's deputy: you missed jury duty, or there's a warrant for your arrest — pay now, or you'll be arrested. The voice can sound exactly like a real deputy. Scammers now use AI to clone an officer's voice from just a few seconds of audio, and they have used a real deputy's photo to make the call look genuine. Caller ID can be faked, too. In Osceola County, Florida, at least 40 people have gotten calls like this in recent months — and what the caller demands is money, sometimes in cryptocurrency.

Stop it: A sheriff's office NEVER calls to demand payment for a warrant or for missed jury duty — and warrants and fines are never paid by phone, gift card, wire transfer, or crypto. Hang up. Then look up the sheriff's office number yourself, on its official website, and call that number to check. Recognizing the voice is no longer proof the call is real.

How it works: A friendly stranger — a wrong-number text, a dating match, a social-media “investment club” — builds trust for weeks, then walks you onto a trading platform that shows fake profits. Small withdrawals may even work; when you try to take out real money, endless “taxes and fees” appear until everything is gone.

Stop it: Guaranteed high returns with little risk do not exist. Never invest because someone you met online told you to.

How it works: A call, text, or email pretends to be your bank's fraud team, the IRS, Social Security, or even the FBI. Your account is “compromised,” so you must move your money somewhere “safe” — and tell no one. Caller ID is spoofed to show the real number (see Rule 7).

Stop it: Real banks and agencies never ask you to move money to protect it, and never demand secrecy. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card.

How it works: Fake package deliveries, unpaid-toll and DMV warnings, bank “fraud alerts,” and friendly wrong-number openers — all carry a link to a page that harvests your card or login. Scams that started with a text cost a reported $470 million in 2024 alone.

Stop it: Never tap the link and never reply. Check the claim yourself in the official app or on a site you type in — and forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM).

How it works: An ad or look-alike store offers a brand item at an impossible discount. You pay, and nothing arrives — or a cheap knockoff does, sometimes with a hidden subscription attached.

Stop it: Look the seller up before buying, check the web address letter by letter, and pay by credit card — never by gift card, wire, or payment app to a stranger.

How it works: A “recruiter” texts an easy job: like videos, rate products, boost listings. A fake balance grows in an app — you may even get a small real payout — then you must deposit your own money, usually crypto, to “unlock” your earnings. A second version steals your ID through fake onboarding forms.

Stop it: Never pay to get paid. Real employers don't recruit by random text and don't pay for likes and ratings.

How it works: A full-screen pop-up — or a call — warns your computer is infected and gives a number for “Microsoft,” “Apple,” or “Geek Squad.” The “technician” takes remote control, shows fake errors, and charges for a fix that doesn't exist. The worst versions turn into a bank-imposter script that empties accounts.

Stop it: Real companies never put a phone number in a security pop-up. Close the browser, and never give remote access or move money on a caller's say-so.

How it works: A profile with stolen photos — a soldier, a doctor, a trader — builds an intense relationship over weeks, always with a reason they can't meet or video-chat. Then comes an emergency — or an offer to teach you investing, which merges into the crypto scam above.

Stop it: Never send money, crypto, or gift cards to someone you haven't met in person — for any reason, however long you've talked.

How it works: Fake bank websites bought to the top of search results, plus “fraud team” calls and texts, trick you into typing your login and one-time code. The criminal signs in as you, changes the password, locks you out, and drains the account.

Stop it: Your bank will never ask you to hand over your password or read back a one-time code. Sign in only through the bank's app or an address you type yourself — never a search ad or a message link.

How it works: Many scripts above end the same way: “Withdraw cash, go to the Bitcoin ATM at the gas station, scan this QR code, stay on the phone, and don't tell the clerk.” The cash becomes crypto in the scammer's wallet instantly — and it's gone for good.

Stop it: No agency, bank, or real company will ever direct you to a crypto ATM. If anyone does, it's a scam — full stop.

How it works: The end stage of an imposter or tech-support call: you're told to withdraw cash or buy gold, keep it secret, and hand it to a “courier” or “agent” who gives a code word. The code word proves nothing — the caller and the courier are the same crew.

Stop it: No bank or agency ever sends anyone to collect cash or gold. Ever. If a pickup is arranged, hand over nothing — call the police.

How it works: “Your package can't be delivered — pay a small redelivery fee or confirm your address” at a fake carrier site that harvests your card.

Stop it: Track packages from the store's original confirmation or the carrier's own app. Carriers don't charge surprise fees through text links.

How it works: Criminals copy the numbers and PINs off cards hanging in stores, wait for someone to buy and load one, then drain it before the gift is even opened. (Demanding payment BY gift card is Rule 4 — this is the other gift-card trap.)

Stop it: Inspect the packaging for tampering, prefer cards kept behind the counter, and keep the receipt.

How it works: “Grandma, it's me — I've been arrested, don't tell Mom and Dad, send bail money now,” sometimes followed by a fake lawyer. A few seconds of audio from social media is enough to clone a voice that sounds exactly right.

Stop it: Hang up and call your relative on a number you already have — and set a family code word today (Rule 5).

How it works: A “buyer” sends a check for more than your price — “my shipper needs the extra” — or a fake payment confirmation. Money may even show in your account, but banks must make funds available before a check truly clears; when it bounces, the “refund” you sent is gone and you owe the bank.

Stop it: Never accept more than your price, and never send back a “difference.” Available is not the same as cleared.

How it works: Real listings are copied with the scammer's contact info and a below-market rent. You're pressured to send a deposit or application fee before seeing the home — and your ID and pay stubs get harvested along the way. About half of these start on Facebook.

Stop it: Never pay before touring in person and confirming who actually owns or manages the property.

How it works: IRS imposters by phone, text, email, and social media demand instant payment under threat of arrest, promise inflated refunds for lying on a return, or phish for the data to file a fake return in your name.

Stop it: The IRS first contacts you by U.S. mail. It never demands payment by text or social media, and never takes gift cards or crypto.

How it works: Callers claim you need a “new” Medicare card, offer “free” genetic testing, braces, or supplies, or rush you to switch plans — all to harvest your Medicare number for fake billing or identity theft.

Stop it: Medicare will not call to sell you anything, and cards are never “upgraded” for a fee. For free help with no sales pitch: 1-800-MEDICARE.

How it works: A fake peer or romantic account coaxes a teen or young adult into sharing private images, then threatens to publish them unless paid. Paying rarely ends the threats. The dollars are small; the harm — shame and fear — is the point, which is why families should talk about it before it happens.

Stop it: Tell your kids in advance: they will never be in trouble for asking for help. Never pay, never send more — save the messages, block, and report to the platform, IC3.gov, and the CyberTipline.

How it works: “You've won!” — a lottery, a sweepstakes, a prize package. Just pay the “taxes,” “shipping,” or “processing fee” first, by gift card or wire. The prize never existed.

Stop it: You can never be charged a fee to collect a prize you actually won. A fee means it's fake.

How it works: A sticker covers a real parking-meter QR code, or a QR image arrives by text or email (“package problem,” “account issue”) and skips past link filters to land on a fake sign-in or payment page.

Stop it: Preview the address before opening it, check public QR codes for stickers, and pay through the official app or site you open yourself.

How it works: After a loss, a “fund recovery” company, fake law firm, or fake FBI/IC3 agent — who somehow knows exactly how much you lost and when — offers to get it back for an upfront fee. There is no recovery; it's the same crime, second round.

Stop it: The government never charges to investigate, and IC3 never contacts victims or asks for payment. Anyone who contacts YOU offering recovery for a fee is a scammer.

How it works: Mostly a business crime — but it reaches families as a fake “title company” email near a home closing that swaps the wiring instructions, or a fake note from the boss asking for gift cards or a rushed payment.

Stop it: Any last-minute change to wire instructions by email means stop. Call a number you already know and confirm out loud before any money moves.

How it works: “Hi, is this Linda?” sounds harmless — and that's the design. A polite reply starts a friendly chat that slowly steers toward friendship, romance, and then “investing” (see the #1 threat above).

Stop it: A wrong number that wants to keep talking isn't an accident. Don't engage — block and delete.

How it works: Stolen names, addresses, and account details from data breaches are what make later scam calls sound so convincing — “they knew everything about me.” The breach is step one; the believable imposter call is step two.

Stop it: Someone knowing your details proves nothing. Freeze your credit free at all three bureaus, and give every important account its own password.

How it works: Polished videos of famous investors or CEOs — generated with AI — pitch “exclusive” investment clubs on social media and messaging apps, leading to the same fake trading platforms as the #1 threat.

Stop it: A face on a screen is no longer proof. If a video tells you to invest or move money, verify it through a channel you found yourself.

How it works: A criminal convinces your phone carrier to move your number to their SIM, then intercepts your texted sign-in codes and resets your accounts.

Stop it: Set a carrier PIN or port-out freeze, and use an authenticator app or passkey instead of texted codes where you can. A hardening step — not a headline wave.

How it works: Sound-alike charity names spike at year-end and after disasters — the seasonal version is covered in our Holiday section above.

Stop it: The honest picture: charity fraud is real but seasonal. Verify any charity at Give.org or Charity Navigator and donate on its official site.

How it works: Viral posts claim a stranger can drain your phone wallet by bumping into you in a crowd. Security experts say that version is overstated — phone wallets need your face, fingerprint, or code. A documented cousin does exist: fake bank apps that trick you into tapping your card against your own phone “to verify.”

Stop it: Check the merchant name and amount before you tap, turn on instant transaction alerts — and never tap your card to your phone because a caller told you to.

How it works: In much of Latin America, a “notario público” is a highly trained lawyer. In the U.S., a notary public may only witness signatures — not give legal or immigration advice. Scammers exploit the false friend, charge for immigration help they can't legally give, then file wrong forms, miss deadlines, or vanish — and the victim's legal status can be put at risk.

Stop it: Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can give immigration legal help. Verify at uscis.gov, never sign a blank form, and never pay for government forms — they're free.

How it works: Fake ICE agents, fake immigration judges, and impersonated real lawyers contact families — often by WhatsApp or through fake pages of trusted charities — threatening arrest or deportation, or promising to free a detained relative for an urgent “bond” payment. One documented mother lost over $18,000 in three months.

Stop it: No immigration agency demands money by phone or takes gift cards, crypto, or wire transfers. A demand like that is proof of a scam.

How it works: Investment pitches arrive through Spanish-language TV and radio personalities, churches, and community figures — the same crypto pipeline as the #1 threat, wearing a familiar face. Fluent, perfect Spanish and a shared background are used to manufacture trust.

Stop it: As the FTC puts it: the fact that someone speaks your language or comes from your country is not a reason to trust them with money. Verify everything independently.