Popular Scams Right Now and How to Avoid Them

About Nicole Pajer

Nicole Pajer is a Los Angeles-based freelance published in The New York Times, Woman's Day, AARP, Parade, Wired, Glamour, People and more.

If it seems like there’s a new scam popping up every day, you’re not imagining it. We’re constantly hearing about scams to avoid, whether that’s via an email phishing campaign, fraudulent phone call or a web popup. That’s because they are unfortunately increasingly common, especially in the day and age of artificial intelligence.

One report by the Financial Counseling Association of America, for instance, noted that in 2023, one in four people reported losing money to scams. But with a few precautions, you can dramatically lower your chances of falling victim to being swindled.

Here are a few current popular scams to be aware of and tips from experts on how you can avoid falling for them.

Recovery scams

This is a type of scam that targets a person who has already been scammed. Someone will reach out and offer to help a person recoup their lost investment funds for a fee. The people doing these scams are often the same people who scammed the person in the first place. But this time around, they may pretend to be a government agent, lawyer, private investigator or a recovery firm. In these scenarios, a scammer will ask for an upfront fee to help them cover various costs, like processing fees, taxes and legal costs.

Experts note that these scams often involve somebody reaching out to you who claims to have knowledge about your previous scam experience. There is often the promise of a money-back guarantee that this person can help to recuperate your funds. They’ll ask you to keep the situation a secret and will ask for unusual payment methods like cryptocurrency, gift cards, cash or gold. If any of the following occurs do not engage. Never send money or give out personal information to these types of messages.

Romance scams

These scams are nothing new but have been on the rise in recent years, especially with older adults as the target. In these scenarios, scammers try to start a fast-paced digital relationship with someone, often through online dating apps or social media accounts. They may make plans to meet in person or even suggest marriage, but never follow through on these promises. Then, they come up with a reason for asking their “partner” for money—they run into financial hardship and need help with bills, are in between jobs, need to help caretake for an ill family member, etc.

Be careful of what you post and make public online, as scammers can steal details from your social media and dating sites to better understand and target you. Research a person’s photo and profile to see if their name or photo appears anywhere else before getting serious with them. Move slowly in the relationship and ask a lot of questions. If the relationship seems too good or moves too fast or if the person tries to isolate you from your family and friends, those are red flags. Be wary if the person never follows through on meeting in real life. And never send money to anyone you have only communicated with online.

Grandparent scams

AI is making this type of scam increasingly more believable. Scammers often target older adults with known grandchildren. Then they impersonate a grandchild or other close relative who is in crisis and ask for money. These calls can spoof a caller ID to make an incoming call appear to be coming from a trusted source. And with artificial intelligence, they can even clone the voice of a loved one, making the call seem even more believable.

If you receive this type of call, experts recommend writing down the details, hanging up, then calling the relative who is said to be involved directly. If you cannot reach the person, call family or friends to check in to see if they have talked to them lately. The Federal Communications Commission also suggests coming up with a code word between loved ones to use in such a scenario to help weed through scams.

Government scams

These scams occur when people impersonate governmental officials or agencies, pretending to be from places like the Federal Trade Commission, Social Security Administration and IRS. They may also say they’re reaching out about your Medicare benefits. The goal is to frighten people into making fake payments or to reveal personal information that could later be used against them. These usually occur in the form of a phone call, email, text or social media message.

It’s important to note that government officials will never call, email, text or track you down on social media to ask for money. You can avoid the scam by refraining from engaging or giving them payment of any kind. Don’t give your financial or personal information to anyone who contacts you to say they are with the government. Instead, track down the official phone number of the agency that has supposedly called you and call directly to ask if they were trying to contact you. You should also not trust your caller ID, as these scammers can get around this, and don’t click on links in unexpected emails or text messages.

To avoid scams, watch out for red flags

“Having practiced law for years, I find that most scammers don't start with a complex scheme,” says Timothy S. Trecek, managing partner at Habush Habush & Rottier. “They will apply pressure and wish for people to respond rather than think.” Some usual signs of scams, he says, include:

Texts that say you owe unpaid tolls
Package delivery notices urging you to click a link
Bank fraud alerts telling you what number to call
Tech-support pop-ups warning that your computer was infected
Callers pretending to be with the IRS, Social Security Administration or local police.
Anything that implies a sense of urgency, like you have X amount of days or hours to act now
When someone starts asking for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, passwords or one-time security codes.

If you receive a message you think could be a scam, Dara Gibson, CEO of Cybersecurity Readiness Advisors, says to “pause, reflect, protect.”

Pause for a moment and be slow to respond

Reflect on:

Who this person is.
What is the request actually asking for?
Were you expecting this request?
Where did the request come from (the URL, email address, etc.)?
When is the response due?
Why did the request come in?
Why is it urgent?

Protect yourself by slowing down and knowing the answers to these questions.

It’s also important to never click links, disclose your passwords or send gift cards or money, says Trecek. Instead, he says to verify by finding the contact number through the official website through your own independent search and be sure to reach out to the business or agency.