Five Common Red Flags You Can Spot Instantly

You don’t need to be a technology expert to protect yourself. You just need to know what to look for. Scammers’ scripts may change, but their methods almost always leave behind the same telltale clues. Learning to spot these red flags is like having a fraud detection system built into your brain.

Here are five of the most obvious signs that you are dealing with a scam.

Red Flag 1: Unexpected Contact and a Demand for Immediate Action

This is the foundation of most scams. A legitimate organization will rarely contact you out of the blue and demand you do something immediately.

If a call, text, or email you were not expecting insists that you must transfer money, provide personal information, or make a decision right now to avoid a terrible consequence or claim a wonderful prize, stop. Urgency is a weapon used to make you panic. Your defense is to pause.

Red Flag 2: A Request for Payment in an Unusual Way

How a person asks to be paid is one of the biggest red flags. Scammers demand payment methods that are difficult to trace and nearly impossible to reverse.

If anyone asks you to pay a bill, fee, or tax by purchasing gift cards (like from Apple, Google Play, or Target), using a cryptocurrency ATM, or sending a wire transfer to an individual, it is a scam. No legitimate business or government agency will ever demand payment this way.

The same goes for person-to-person payment apps; they are for friends and family, not for official transactions.

Red Flag 3: A Request to Install Software or Gain Remote Access

This is common in tech support scams. Someone calls claiming to be from Microsoft, Apple, or your internet provider, stating your computer has a virus. To “fix” it, they need you to download a program that gives them remote control of your device.

Once they are in, they can steal your files, install malicious software, and access your online banking. Never, ever give a stranger remote access to your computer based on an unsolicited call.

Red Flag 4: The “Refund” or Overpayment Scenario

In this tricky scam, someone might claim they are from a company that owes you a refund. Or, if you are selling an item online, a “buyer” will send you a check for more than the asking price.

In both cases, they will ask you to deposit the full amount and then send back the “overpayment” via wire transfer or gift card. The original check or deposit is fraudulent and will eventually bounce, but by then, the money you sent them is long gone.

A real business will never overpay you and ask for the difference back.

Red Flag 5: The Story Doesn’t Quite Add Up

Trust your instincts. Does the person on the phone sound unprofessional? Is the email full of spelling and grammar mistakes? Is the Caller ID showing a local number, but the person says they are from a federal agency in Washington, D.C.?

Scammers can fake Caller ID information in a practice called “spoofing.” If any detail feels strange or out of place, it probably is. It is always safer to assume a suspicious interaction is a scam than to hope it is legitimate.