New alerts as sources are verified
The latest scams, and what to do about them
Each one is a short read: how to recognize the scam, one calm next step, and the official source the alert came from.
Arrives by an email
An Email About a Building Permit Asking You to Wire Money
An email that looks like it comes from your city or county's planning office asks for a permit fee by wire transfer. Here is how to check before you pay anything.
Read this alertArrives by a direct message on a messaging app
A Message Asks You to 'Approve' an App? Check Before You Tap Allow
A direct message asks you to approve an app to view a document or confirm an event. Approving it can hand over lasting access to your email and files, and a password change will not undo it.
Read this alertArrives by a QR code sticker on a parking meter or sign
A QR Code on a Parking Meter May Not Be the Real One
Scammers are placing their own QR code stickers over the real ones on parking meters and signs. Scanning the wrong one opens a look-alike payment page instead of the parking agency's own site.
Read this alertArrives by a phone call
A Call About a Missed Jury Duty Warrant? It Is Likely a Scam
Callers claiming to be sheriff's deputies say you missed jury duty and face arrest unless you pay right away. Here is how to recognize the pattern and why a real agency never calls to demand money.
Read this alertArrives by a website that looks like a real dealership
A Car Dealership Website May Be a Convincing Fake
Scammers are cloning real car dealership websites, complete with logos and vehicle listings, to collect deposits for cars that do not exist. Here is how to check before you pay.
Read this alertArrives by a text message
Text About an Unpaid Toll? It Is Almost Certainly a Scam
A text says you owe a small toll and that a much larger late fee is coming. Here is how to recognize one of these messages and how to check a real toll account instead.
Read this alertArrives by a delivery to your door
A Package You Did Not Order? What a Brushing Scam Is
A parcel arrives that no one in the house ordered, sometimes with a QR code inside. Here is what a brushing scam is, which part is actually risky, and the calm next step.
Read this alertArrives by the mail
Postcard About a Veterans Savings Program? No Such Program Exists
Veterans are receiving postcards promising extra monthly benefits through a savings program that does not exist. Here is how to recognize the mailing and how to reach the VA directly.
Read this alertArrives by texts, social media posts, and phone calls
Donation Requests After a Disaster: Giving Without Being Taken
After storms, floods, and fires, appeals arrive by text, social media, and phone. Here is how to tell a real charity from one that appeared overnight, and how to check before you give.
Read this alertArrives by a search engine results page
The Top Result for Pay My Bill May Be a Paid Ad
Searching for a company's payment page can put a paid advertisement above the real result. Here is why the first result is not always the company, and how to reach the genuine payment page.
Read this alert
Where these come from
Alerts are written from published consumer-protection sources such as the Federal Trade Commission, and every alert links to the source it used. This page reports what agencies have described. It cannot tell you whether one particular message you received is genuine.
Guides explain, practice prepares
Alerts cover what is new. The scam guides answer the questions that do not change, and the four-story practice lets you rehearse the same decisions in a fictional scene where nothing is sent, shared, or charged.
10 alerts published. Follow new alerts by RSS. This page provides general educational information and cannot investigate an incident or recover money.