15 guides
Scam and fraud guides
Plain-English guides to spotting scams, protecting your accounts and acting fast if something goes wrong. General education, not legal advice.
Common scams
Fake texts and emails, impostor calls, tech support and romance scams.
- Fake texts and emails: how to spot them
The "your account is locked" message, and its many cousins.
- Impostor calls: "This is your bank / the IRS / your grandson"
Hang up and call back on a number you look up yourself.
- Tech support scams and pop-up warnings
Real tech companies don't call you or lock your screen.
- Romance scams and online "friends"
Someone you've never met asks for money. That's the scam.
Payments and banking
Gift cards, payment apps, fake checks and investment scams.
- Asked to pay with a gift card? It's a scam
Gift cards are for gifts. Nobody legitimate takes payment that way.
- Payment app scams
Payment apps are like cash: only pay people you know.
- Fake checks and overpayment scams
"I sent too much, just send back the difference."
- Investment and crypto scams
Guaranteed high returns are the red flag.
Identity and accounts
Passwords, two-step login, credit freezes and data breaches.
- Passwords and two-step login, made simple
Unique passwords plus a second step stop most account takeovers.
- Freeze your credit: free, fast, and powerful
Stop new accounts being opened in your name.
- Protecting your Social Security number
Share it rarely, and lock down the accounts tied to it.
- Your data was in a breach. Now what?
What to do depends on what was exposed.
If it happens
What to do if you paid, identity theft recovery and helping family.
- You paid a scammer. Do this now.
Speed matters. Call the company you paid through first.
- Identity theft: a recovery plan
IdentityTheft.gov builds a step-by-step plan for you.
- Helping an older relative avoid scams
Talk without lecturing, and set up a few safeguards together.