Learn How to Identify and Avoid Scams

Know how to identify and avoid scams. If you provide your information or send money to a scammer, there is often little your bank or the police can do to help get your money back. Never trust caller ID, so always validate an organization by calling them back through an official phone number.

Scammers may pose as government officials, law enforcement or even bank employees to steal your personal information.

Know how to identify red flags. In many types of scams, you may be:

pressured to send money
threatened with law enforcement action
told to purchase gift cards and provide codes as a form of payment
asked to cash a check for a stranger
instructed to make a cash deposit for sweepstakes
offered more than you are asking for something with a request to send the overpayment elsewhere