5 Red Flags That You're About to Be Scammed

Anyone can be conned out of their money. Worldwide, people lost $1.03 trillion to scams in 2024, according to a Global Anti-Scam Alliance report.

While scammers keep devising more ingenious ways to take our money, there are ways to protect yourself. By performing a scam autopsy, you can often spot common red flags.

"Scams are less about technical wizardry and more about human psychology. They thrive on urgency and emotion, and that's where the red flags pop up," said Dave Meister, the head of the Global Channel and MSP at Check Point, an international cybersecurity solutions company.

You can start by staying alert to these five telltale signs you're being conned. 

Can you check any of these boxes? It's probably a scam

There seems to be no shortage of ways a criminal can trick someone out of their money, including tax scams, solar panel scams and data breach notification scams. But if you study the world of scams, it quickly becomes apparent that many of the same patterns emerge.

1. You feel a sense of urgency

By creating a situation where you're under pressure to act quickly, scammers know they trick you into sending money or sharing information before you have time to think about it.

For instance, a jury duty scam relies on the fear that you missed a jury summons and will be arrested if you don't immediately pay a fine. 

It's easy to imagine someone falling for that, especially if they think, "Did I miss jury duty? I don't always open my mail."   Stop and think: How often has a courthouse texted you? Probably never, up to this point.

But urgency doesn't automatically mean you're being scammed. However, if you just went from calm to panic and the only solution is to pay money right now, there's a decent chance you're in the early stages of a scam.

"Look out for messages that lean on fear and emotion -- claims your account's been hacked, your identity's stolen, someone you love is in need or you're facing legal trouble," Meister said. These messages may seem real at the moment, but they're designed to make you comply before you have time to think.

2. You receive an unsolicited message

We are all flooded with unsolicited emails, phone calls and texts, and many aren't scams. But if you're panicked over a message you received out of the blue, there's a good chance it's a scam.

That said, not all scams are designed to make you panic. Some scams are designed to make you curious. For instance, brushing scams involve scammers mailing packages that contain a cheap gift and a QR code. To find out who sent the package, recipients must scan the QR code and fill out a form with some personal information. The scammer steals the info.

Another scam preys on people searching for a job. Victims receive an unprompted text message from a "recruiter" who offers them a lucrative work-from-home position -- they just have to fill out a form with their personal information or purchase an expensive "starter kit." Instead of giving the victims a job, the scammers steal their money and identity. 

The point is that scammers generally initiate contact with their victims. So if you receive an unsolicited message from what seems like a reputable place, contact the source separately -- not through a QR code or link provided in the message -- to confirm whether the message is legit.

3. You're thrown into a high-stress situation 

Con artists often try to freak people out so that they'll be more likely to make a hasty payment to fix a stressful problem, especially one that could cause embarrassment.

A 73-year-old woman in Olympia, Washington, recently lost her life savings after a fake pop-up ad appeared on her computer, telling her she had been hacked. The scammers convinced her that criminals were using her personal information to purchase illicit content featuring minors on the dark web.

Yes, it's easy to think that you wouldn't fall for something like that, but stress wears all of us down and makes it hard to think clearly. 

But if you're feeling stressed and someone tells you the only way out is to pay money, you should take a step back. Avoid making any big financial decisions under duress. 

"Legitimate organizations don't threaten instant action or demand secrecy," Meister says. "If they're rushing you with tales of doom or shame, it's a scam. Use that fear to raise your guard, not lower it."

If possible, share your concerns with a friend or family member who isn't emotionally invested and can help you rationally assess the situation.

4. Unusual payment methods are required

Another hallmark of a scam: You've suddenly entered Bizarro World. Weird things can happen to anyone. But if one minute you're living a fairly normal life and the next you're considering paying ransom money in the form of gift cards, that's a sign that you might be the victim of a scam.

Last year, a Nebraska couple was tricked into paying $115,000 after their computer displayed a message that they had been hacked. After calling the phone number on the message, the couple was convinced they were under investigation by the FBI and could only protect their bank accounts by purchasing gold bars. The couple realized they'd been duped only after the "courier" picked up the gold bars and disappeared.

Most of us don't make a lot of complicated financial transactions with gold bars and cryptocurrency, hoping to stay out of jail or rescue a kidnapped loved one. But scammers depend on victims not thinking about how unlikely a scenario is before realizing they've been robbed.

5. You're pressured to keep secrets or to lie

This is more than a red flag. It should be a flashing neon sign.

Scammers do not want you talking to anybody about your situation. By isolating you and perhaps creating a situation where they become your confidant, scammers keep you from getting an outsider's perspective on the situation.  

"Secrecy is a bad actor's best friend," Meister said. He explained that a criminal will warn you not to tell other people or use phrases like, "This is confidential." They know the moment you start talking to other people about what's happening, "their game falls apart. They need you isolated because isolation feeds compliance."

In Northern Kentucky last year, officials warned the public about a scam in which people were getting a phone call and threatened with arrest unless they paid a fine. The scammers told victims that a judge had issued a "gag order" to keep them from discussing the call with anyone.

Last year, in Vista, California, a woman lost $24,000 by withdrawing money from her bank account to purchase gift cards. She was warned that the bank teller and the store couldn't be trusted and not to tell them anything. If somebody tells you not to trust your bank, that's a good sign that something is off.

So what do you do if you come across one of these red flags? 

First, congratulate yourself. It's the first step to stopping the scam. Next, do the following: 

1. Hit the pause button. Take a deep breath and step back. "Bad actors win when you're panicked and isolated, so your first move is to hit pause," Meister said. "That moment of calm can change everything."

2. Refuse to take immediate action. Criminals depend on using urgency and emotions against you, so they'll pressure you to act fast by clicking a link or paying now without thinking it through. 

3. Stop communicating with the suspected con artist immediately. Yes, you may feel pressure and think not communicating with them is a risk, but that is part of the con. The criminal wants to keep you engaged and to feel like you have no choice but to pay up.

4. Talk to someone you trust. If you're uncertain whether you're being scammed, "talk to someone, whether it's a coworker, your cyber provider, or your bank's fraud team," Meister said. "Bad actors rely on you feeling too embarrassed or scared to reach out, but a second perspective strips their power."