Help people evaluate suspicious messages, calls, websites, marketplace contacts, and account alerts.
Scams change stories but reuse pressure: act now, keep it secret, trust an impersonated authority, move to an unusual channel, bypass normal safeguards, pay irreversibly, or disclose credentials. Verification should happen through a route the suspicious contact did not provide.
Pause the requested action
Do not click, call, download, pay, move money, install remote-access software, or share a code while investigating. A real organization can tolerate independent verification. Screenshots, caller ID, logos, account names, and personal details can all be copied or spoofed.
Apply the independent-verification test
- Who claims to be contacting you and why now
- What money, data, access, secrecy, or urgency they request
- Whether the domain, username, app, and contact history are genuinely connected
- A known phone number, official app, saved contact, or in-person route to verify
- Normal payment and account-change process for the relationship
- What evidence to preserve and which platform, provider, or authority handles reports
Recognize high-risk requests
| Request | Why it is risky | Safe response |
|---|---|---|
| Gift card, crypto, wire, or refund transfer | Hard to reverse and common in impersonation | Stop and verify through a known channel |
| Password or one-time code | Can enable direct takeover | Never share; use official recovery |
| Remote-access installation | Gives control of device or accounts | Decline and contact trusted support |
Investigate without engaging further
- Stop the transaction.
- Record sender, message, URL, and requested action.
- Navigate independently to the claimed organization.
- Ask a trusted person before a high-impact decision.
- Block and report through appropriate channels.
- If you acted, contact financial and account providers immediately.
Expect layered impersonation
- A fake bank agent warning about a fake fraud event
- Marketplace buyer sending a fabricated payment notice
- Romance or job relationship moving toward money requests
- Support search results or ads leading to a fake phone number
Keep a fraud contact log
Record dates, identities claimed, accounts or numbers used, URLs, payment method and reference, information disclosed, provider contacts, case numbers, reports, and recovery actions. Do not keep live malicious files on an everyday device merely for evidence.
Continue with the next decision
Sources and further reading
Primary and contextual sources used to verify definitions or give readers a relevant next resource.
- CISA guidance on recognizing and reporting phishing Official public guidance on common phishing signs, response, and reporting.