Scams come in many forms, but most rely on the same tactics: surprise, fear, urgency, secrecy, or the promise of an unexpected reward. Recognizing these warning signs can help you stop a scam before money or personal information is lost.

Scammers continually change their stories and technology. You do not need to memorize every type of scam. You need to recognize the pressure tactics they use and know how to verify a request independently.

If You Are Unsure: Stop, Question and Verify

Before responding to an unexpected request:

1. Stop. Do not send money, provide information, click a link, or download anything.
2. Question. Ask yourself why the person contacted you and why immediate action is supposedly necessary.
3. Verify. Contact the person or organization independently using information you already trust.
4. Get a second opinion. Speak with a family member, friend, financial institution, or police officer.

A legitimate organization will give you time to verify a request. A scammer wants to keep you moving before you have time to think.

Common Warning Signs

One warning sign does not always prove that something is fraudulent. Several warning signs together, however, should cause you to stop and investigate.

Unexpected Contact

Be cautious when someone unexpectedly contacts you by telephone, text, email, social media, or mail and claims to represent:

• A government agency
• Law enforcement or a court
• Your bank or credit-card company
• Medicare, Social Security, or the IRS
• A utility company
• A technology company
• A familiar business
• A charity
• A family member or friend
• A potential romantic partner
• An investment adviser
• A sweepstakes or prize organization

The person may already know your name, address, relatives, or other details. Personal information is widely available through public records, social media, data breaches, and commercial databases. Knowing something about you does not prove that the contact is legitimate.

Pressure to Act Immediately

Scammers often create artificial deadlines:

• “You must pay today.”
• “Your account will be closed.”
• “This offer expires in an hour.”
• “Your grandchild needs help right now.”
• “Do not hang up.”
• “Stay on the line while you make the payment.”
• “Move your money before it is stolen.”

Urgency is intended to prevent you from checking the story. Slow the conversation down. You are allowed to hang up, ask questions, and verify.

Threats of Arrest or Loss

Be suspicious of anyone who threatens:

• Arrest or prosecution
• A warrant
• Deportation
• Suspension of Social Security or Medicare benefits
• Closure of a bank account
• Disconnection of utilities
• Loss of a driver’s license
• Seizure of property
• Damage to your credit
• Public embarrassment

Government agencies and legitimate businesses do not resolve legal or financial matters through threats demanding immediate payment by telephone.

Instructions to Keep It Secret

Scammers may tell you:

• Not to contact family
• Not to speak with your bank
• Not to tell law enforcement
• That the matter is part of a confidential investigation
• That telling someone will place a loved one in danger
• That a bank employee is involved in the supposed fraud

Secrecy isolates you from people who might recognize the scam. If someone tells you not to discuss a financial request with a person you trust, that is exactly when you should discuss it.

Unusual Payment Methods

Be extremely cautious when someone demands payment through:

• Gift cards
• Cryptocurrency
• Wire transfers
• Cash delivery
• Cash sent through the mail
• Gold or other precious metals
• A payment app
• A check deposited into your account followed by a request to send some of the money elsewhere

These payment methods can be difficult or impossible to reverse. No legitimate government agency, police department, court, utility, or financial institution will require you to pay by gift card, cryptocurrency, cash delivery, or gold.

Requests for Passwords or Verification Codes

Never give an unexpected caller or message sender:

• Your password
• Personal identification number
• Bank-account login
• One-time verification code
• Security answer
• Full Social Security number
• Medicare number
• Credit- or debit-card security code

A one-time verification code is often the final key a criminal needs to enter your account. Enter a code only when you personally initiated the login through an official website or application. Do not read or forward the code to anyone.

Payment Required to Receive a Prize

You should not have to pay taxes, shipping, insurance, processing fees, or another charge to receive a legitimate prize. Be suspicious if:

• You do not remember entering the contest.
• Payment is required before the prize is released.
• You are asked to provide bank information.
• A check is sent with instructions to deposit it and return part of the money.
• The caller claims the prize must remain confidential.

A prize that costs money to collect is not much of a prize.

Requests for Remote Access

A scammer may claim that your computer, bank account, or identity has been compromised and ask you to install software or provide remote access to your device.

Never allow an unexpected caller to:

• Take control of your computer or telephone
• Watch your screen
• Access online banking
• Move files
• Install software
• Direct you to a cryptocurrency ATM
• Tell you how to move money between accounts

Legitimate technology companies do not unexpectedly contact people to report a computer problem. If you need help, contact a trusted technology professional independently.

Caller ID Can Be Falsified

A call or text may appear to come from:

• The Pinehurst Police Department
• A local telephone number
• Your bank
• Medicare
• Social Security
• The IRS
• A family member
• A familiar business

Scammers can manipulate caller ID so that a false name or number appears on your screen. Do not rely on caller ID as proof.

Hang up and call the organization using a number from its official website, the back of your card, or a trusted statement. Do not press a number or return a call using information supplied by the suspicious caller.

Offers That Sound Too Good to Be True

Be wary of:

• Guaranteed investment returns
• Risk-free opportunities
• Secret investment strategies
• Unexpected inheritances
• Easy work-from-home income
• Prizes you did not enter to win
• Deeply discounted products from unfamiliar websites
• A romantic interest who quickly requests money
• A buyer who offers to pay more than the listed price
• A contractor requiring a large cash payment immediately

Promises of unusually high rewards with little risk are designed to overpower caution.

How to Verify a Request

Verification means using a source that is independent of the person who contacted you.

End the Conversation

You do not owe an unexpected caller your time or an explanation. Say:

“I do not make financial decisions during unsolicited calls. I will contact the organization directly.”

Then hang up. If someone is at your door, do not allow the person inside. Ask them to leave information and verify it later.

Call 911 if the person becomes threatening or refuses to leave.

Do Not Use Their Contact Information

Do not use:

• A telephone number provided by the caller
• A link in the message
• A QR code they sent
• A website address in an unexpected email
• A number the caller tells you to search for
• A “customer service” number displayed in a pop-up warning

Those contact methods may lead directly back to the scammer.

Contact the Organization Independently

Use a telephone number from:

• The back of your credit or debit card
• A recent account statement
• An official government website ending in .gov
• A bill you already know is legitimate
• A verified application already installed on your device

Explain what happened and ask whether the request was legitimate.

Contact the Family Member Directly

If someone claims that a relative is in trouble:

• Hang up.
• Call the relative using a number you already have.
• Contact another family member.
• Ask a question only the real person would know.
• Be aware that scammers may use information from social media.
• Remember that voices, photographs, and videos can be altered or created using artificial intelligence.

Do not send money based solely on a telephone call, text, voice recording, photograph, or video.

Consider creating a private family verification word or phrase for use during genuine emergencies. Do not post it online.

Ask for a Second Opinion

Before sending money or sharing sensitive information, speak with:

• A trusted family member or friend
• Your bank or credit union
• Your attorney or financial adviser
• The Pinehurst Police Department
• Another person who is not involved in the transaction

Scammers discourage second opinions because another person may recognize the warning signs.

Safe Online Habits

Good online security cannot stop every scam, but it can make your accounts and information much harder to steal.

Use Strong, Unique Passwords

Each important account should have its own password. If the same password is used everywhere, one compromised account can expose many others.

Good practices include:

• Use long passwords or passphrases.
• Avoid names, birthdays, addresses, and common words.
• Do not reuse passwords.
• Change passwords that may have been exposed.
• Do not share passwords by email, text, or telephone.
• Consider using a reputable password manager.

Protect your email account particularly carefully. Someone who controls your email may be able to reset passwords for many other accounts.

Turn On Multifactor Authentication

Multifactor authentication adds another step when signing in, such as an authentication application, security key, fingerprint, or verification code.

Enable it for:

• Email
• Banking and investments
• Credit cards
• Social media
• Shopping accounts
• Cloud storage
• Medical and insurance accounts

Authentication applications or security keys generally provide stronger protection than text-message codes. However, any form of multifactor authentication is usually better than using a password alone.

Learn more through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Secure Our World program.

Keep Software Updated

Install updates for:

• Computers
• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Web browsers
• Security software
• Home routers
• Smart televisions and connected devices

Enable automatic updates when practical. Updates often repair security weaknesses that criminals can exploit.

Be Careful with Email and Text Messages

Before clicking:

• Check the sender’s full email address.
• Look for misspellings or slightly altered domain names.
• Be suspicious of unexpected attachments.
• Do not click links simply because a message uses a familiar logo.
• Contact the organization independently if the message concerns money or an account problem.
• Delete unsolicited messages requesting personal information.
• Mark suspicious messages as spam or junk.

Do not rely on spelling and grammar alone. Modern scam messages may be polished and convincing.

Protect Your Social Media Information

Scammers use social media to learn about families, travel, hobbies, employment, pets, and relationships.

Consider:

• Limiting posts to people you know
• Reviewing privacy settings
• Removing your address, telephone number, and full birth date
• Avoiding posts that reveal security-question answers
• Waiting until after a trip to post vacation photographs
• Declining connection requests from people you do not recognize
• Reviewing who can see your friends and family connections

Even a harmless birthday post or pet photograph can provide information used to guess passwords, answer security questions, or make an impersonation scam more convincing.

Use Public Wi-Fi Carefully

Public Wi-Fi may be convenient, but it should not be treated as private.

When using public Wi-Fi:

• Avoid banking, investing, shopping, or entering sensitive information.
• Prefer your cellular connection or a personal hotspot for financial activity.
• Confirm the correct network name with the business or facility.
• Turn off automatic connection to unknown networks.
• Do not share files with nearby devices.
• Log out when finished.
• Select “forget this network” if you do not need to reconnect automatically.

The padlock symbol and https provide some protection for the connection to a website, but they do not prove that the website itself is legitimate.

Secure Your Home Network

For a home router:

• Change the default administrator password.
• Use a strong Wi-Fi password.
• Use WPA2 or WPA3 security when available.
• Install router updates.
• Disable remote administration unless it is needed.
• Create a guest network for visitors and connected devices when practical.
• Replace equipment that no longer receives security updates.

If you are unsure how to change these settings, contact your internet provider or a trusted technology professional. Do not give control of your router to an unexpected caller.

Back Up Important Information

Maintain copies of important documents and files in case a device is lost, damaged, infected, or locked by ransomware.

Consider backing up:

• Financial and tax records
• Family photographs
• Legal documents
• Medical information
• Contact lists
• Property records
• Other irreplaceable files

Use an external drive that is disconnected after the backup or a reputable cloud-backup service. Periodically confirm that the files can be restored.

The Best Defense Is a Pause

Scammers want an immediate decision. Taking time to stop, verify, and talk with someone you trust may be the most effective protection you have.