Protect yourself from scams

Fraud has reached a record high, with a surge in imposter scams and identity theft. Here, experts share how to protect yourself quickly and easily

Spot MAIL fraud: Press pause

You get a letter revealing you won a prize, but first you need to buy something. “Legitimate sweepstakes will never ask you to pay to improve your chances,” says Kati Daffan of the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Marketing Practices. From lottery to financial scams, the first thing con artists try to do is get folks under the ether, adds fraud expert Doug Shadel. “That’s a heightened emotional state.” The best defense is to set it aside for a day to think about it.

Also smart: Protect what you send: It’s rare, but scammers can bleach the ink off a check and write something else. Just use a gel pen—it can’t be bleached.

Spot PHONE fraud: Ask about dessert

Imposter fraud—scammers pretending to be someone else—is on the rise. A common scam is a caller claiming to be from the IRS telling you that you owe taxes. And during the pandemic, there’s been a surge in scammers using texts to pose as a potential victim’s grandchild in need of money for a medical emergency. If you get a message from someone claiming to be a relative, ask questions the imposter wouldn’t know the answer to, like what’s their favorite dessert. Also smart: Sidestep “neighbor spoofing”: Scammers often call from numbers that match the first three digits of your number so you trust it—just don’t answer.

Spot ONLINE fraud: Look for typos

Computer-related fraud has ticked up during the pandemic. This ranges from inheritance scams to phishing fraud—emails that may look like they’re from a company you know so you click a link. The best way to protect yourself is to look for “scammer grammar,” such as misspellings and bad punctuation, like not capitalizing a proper name, as in “western union.”

Also smart: Check the sender’s address before opening a dubious email—the supposedly familiar address may use .com instead of .net or vice versa.