Personal Finance / Unit 9: Consumer Skills and Protection
9.4 Scams and Fraud
Notes
Scams try to trick people into giving up money or information.
- Red flags: pressure to act now, requests for gift cards or wire transfers, prizes for contests you never entered, promises of guaranteed high returns, and messages asking for passwords or codes.
- Phishing uses fake emails, texts or sites that look real. Don't click unexpected links.
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Real companies and agencies do not demand payment in gift cards.
- Verify by contacting the organization with a number or site you find yourself.
- Report scams to the proper authorities and to your bank if money was sent.
Practice
A caller says you must pay a fee in gift cards right now to claim a prize. This is most likely:
Urgency plus gift-card payment are classic scam signs.
An email that looks like it is from a store asks you to click a link and enter your password. What is this attempt called?
Phishing uses fake messages to steal information.
Which response is safest to an unexpected message saying your account is locked?
Verify independently rather than trusting the message's link.
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