Online Scams

Online scams are increasingly sophisticated. Criminals use email, text messages, social media, fake websites, phone calls, and payment apps to steal money, credentials, and personal information. Learning the warning signs is the first step in protecting yourself.

How to detect and avoid online scams

Scammers often create urgency, impersonate trusted brands, offer unrealistic rewards, or pressure victims to bypass normal verification. If a message asks for money, credentials, remote access, gift cards, crypto transfers, or sensitive documents, pause and verify the request through a trusted channel.

Phishing scams

Phishing scams impersonate banks, delivery companies, government agencies, employers, or well-known services to trick people into revealing passwords, credit card details, or account recovery codes.

• Check the sender address, domain spelling, and message formatting before trusting a request.
• Do not open suspicious links or attachments. You can use trace email to review where a message originated.
• Use 2FA on important accounts so a stolen password is not enough to sign in.

Online shopping scams

Fake stores often copy legitimate brands, advertise steep discounts, and disappear after collecting payment or personal information.

• Look for HTTPS, real contact information, consistent policies, and independent reviews.
• Be cautious with deals that are far below normal market prices.
• Use payment methods with fraud protection instead of wire transfers, gift cards, or crypto.

Investment and Ponzi schemes

Investment scams promise high returns with little or no risk. Ponzi schemes use money from new investors to pay earlier investors until the scheme collapses.

• Research the company, registration status, leadership, and product claims.
• Be skeptical of guaranteed returns, secret systems, and pressure to recruit others.
• Talk with a trusted financial professional before investing in unfamiliar opportunities.

Tech support scams

Tech support scammers pretend to represent Microsoft, Apple, Google, an ISP, a device manufacturer, or antivirus vendor. They may claim your computer is infected and ask for remote access or payment.

• Legitimate support teams do not normally contact you out of the blue to demand remote access.
• Do not install remote-control software unless you initiated support through an official channel.
• Hang up, close the chat, and report the incident if the interaction feels suspicious.

Romance scams

Romance scams build trust through fake profiles and emotional manipulation. After gaining confidence, the scammer invents an emergency, travel problem, medical bill, or investment opportunity.

• Be cautious of people who avoid video calls or in-person meetings.
• Never send money to someone you have not met and verified.
• Report suspicious profiles to the dating app or social media platform.