How To Get A Refund On Paypal If Scammed

10 Ways to Recognize a Scam

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From romance scammers to people pretending to be IRS agents, there are many different ways for criminals to defraud innocent victims out of their personal information and money. Fortunately, when it comes to perpetrating a scam, scammers tend to behave in predictable ways. That makes them easy to spot as long as you know what to look for.

Suspicious Phone Calls

One popular technique that scammers use is to place phone calls directly to people claiming to be anything from a bank to the IRS or an antivirus software company. Most of these businesses and agencies don't call customers directly, so no matter how official it sounds, play it safe. Hang up and call the business back at a number you get from their official website.

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Specific Payment Demands

Scammers often have a preferred payment method, such as a prepaid debit card or gift cards. Legitimate businesses and government agencies, on the other hand, usually take multiple standard forms of payment, including credit cards that allow fraud protection.

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Poor Presentation

Legitimate businesses put a lot of effort into making sure their communications, either through emails, advertisements, mailings or text messages, are professional and polished. Additionally, scammers aren't always so concerned with proper spelling and grammar or using high-quality images.

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Incongruous Email Addresses

As part of their professional presentation, legit businesses and government agencies also give their employees a corporate email address that uses their name like mail@directpay.irs.gov. Online romance scammers may claim to work for Match.com, but if their email address doesn't actually end with "@match.com," don't trust them.

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Special Offers

Most people like feeling special, and that's something scammers can take advantage of by offering "special deals" that are only available for a limited few. This is usually a red flag. Think about these offers realistically. Why are they offering this deal to you, specifically? Is it just because they want to sell you something or gain your trust?

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High-pressure Tactics

Some people don't want to be impolite, so they'll keep listening even when someone starts badgering them. Unfortunately, scammers use this tendency to pressure people into handing over financial information. If someone calls you and seems too rude or pushy about getting info or payment from you, just hang up. You don't owe rude people your time.

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Threats

One particularly insidious high-pressure tactic that scammers use is to threaten people with fines or law enforcement. There are important processes involved with notifying consumers in the United States of outstanding debts, and they don't involve calling you and threatening to send the police. Again, the best defense is to just hang up when this happens.

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Complicated Requests

The Nigerian prince scam is a well-known example of a classic scam technique, pulling people in with a wild story. However, as with special offers, it's important to think about why you, of all people on the planet, are receiving this request for help. If the story is outlandish, it's probably a scam.

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Upfront Payment Requests With Promises of a Return

Another way to spot a scam in the vein of the Nigerian prince fraud is to look for any requests for upfront payment that will result in a greater return. Legitimate investment opportunities require you to seek them out, not the other way around.

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Unclear Details

Legitimate businesses and investment opportunities provide clear information for their customers — that's what an investment prospectus is for. If you're looking at a supposed deal or opportunity that is thin on detail, even down to contact information for you to call them back, that's a major red flag.