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The holiday season is fast approaching and that means scammers will be out in full force trying to trick you into giving them your money. But you can stay one step ahead of the scammers by learning all you can about the various scams that are causing so many people so much misery. <\/span><\/p>\n Yes, it’s true, scammers have been with us since civilization began. You’ve all heard of the Magic Elixir snake oil salesman of a century ago. The internet has made it easier for scammers to steal your money in so many different ways.<\/span><\/p>\n Today’s site pick, believe it or not, is a U.S. government site where you can learn more about some of the most popular scams that are waiting to ensnare you via text message, phone call, email, or website. The only way to avoid being a victim of a scam is to be very careful and learn all you can about the scams you’re most likely to encounter. <\/span><\/p>\n Scams have been around since civilization began. To some, there\u2019s nothing better than getting money for nothing no matter how much it hurts others. Lack of conscience and morality seems more ubiquitous now than ever before, but maybe it just seems that way because so many kooks are on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n I digress. Today\u2019s site pick is the United States Federal Trade Commission\u2019s (FTC) Imposter Scams website. It\u2019s so well done, I\u2019m surprised. On the FTC\u2019s Imposter Scams website, you\u2019ll learn: <\/span><\/p>\n Never move your money to \u201cprotect it.\u201d That\u2019s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s a verification code and why would someone ask me for it?<\/span><\/p>\n Will your bank or investment fund stop a transfer to a scammer?<\/span><\/p>\n Did you get a call or text about a suspicious purchase on Amazon?<\/span><\/p>\n Did someone send you to a Bitcoin ATM? It\u2019s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n New tech support scammers want your life savings.<\/span><\/p>\n How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams.<\/span><\/p>\n The latest tech support scams: scammers tell you someone hacked your bank or investment account and is using it for fraud. And they pretend to transfer you to a government agency for \u201chelp.\u201d But it\u2019s all a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n How to recognize a fake Geek Squad renewal scam.<\/span><\/p>\n Fake calls from Apple and Amazon support: What you need to know.<\/span><\/p>\n Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money.<\/span><\/p>\n No one is using your Social Security number to commit crimes. It\u2019s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n The phone rings. Your caller ID says it\u2019s the Social Security Administration. You hesitate. You\u2019re not expecting a call from them, and you\u2019ve heard about impersonation scams. But something inside you makes you pick up. And everything you\u2019re about to hear is designed to scare you into doing whatever the caller says.<\/span><\/p>\n How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams.<\/span><\/p>\n How to recognize a fake Geek Squad renewal scam.<\/span><\/p>\n Fake calls from Apple and Amazon support: What you need to know.<\/span><\/p>\n Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money.<\/span><\/p>\n What to Know About Romance Scams<\/span><\/p>\n Utility Company Impersonators<\/span> Sure ways to spot a scammer<\/span><\/p>\n Scammers say and do things that can tell us they\u2019re lying \u2014 and they\u2019re not who they pretend to be. Of course, to hear or see those clues, we have to get past the panic scammers make us feel, thanks to the so-called emergencies they try to create. And since scammers are convincing, that can be hard to do. But recent scams are costing people their life savings, so here are some sure ways to spot the scammer.<\/span><\/p>\n Things only scammers will say:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAct now!\u201d That\u2019s a scam. Scammers use pressure, so you don\u2019t have time to think. But pressuring you to act now is always a sign of a scam. It\u2019s also a reason to stop.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOnly say what I tell you to say.\u201d That\u2019s a scam. The minute someone tells you to lie to anyone \u2014 including bank tellers or investment brokers \u2014 stop. It\u2019s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t trust anyone. They\u2019re in on it.\u201d That\u2019s a scam. Scammers want to cut you off from anyone who might slow you down.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo [this] or you\u2019ll be arrested.\u201d That\u2019s a scam. Any threat like this is a lie. Nobody needs money or information to keep you out of jail, keep you from being deported, or avoid bigger fines. They\u2019re all scams.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t hang up.\u201d That\u2019s a scam. If someone wants to keep you on the phone while you go withdraw or transfer money, buy gift cards, or anything else they\u2019re asking you to do: that\u2019s a scammer. DO hang up.<\/span><\/p>\n And here\u2019s a list of things that only scammers will tell you to do:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMove your money to protect it\u201d is a scam. Nobody legit will tell you to transfer or withdraw money from your bank or investment accounts. But scammers will.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWithdraw money and buy gold bars\u201d is a scam. Always. Every time.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWithdraw cash and give it to [anyone]\u201d is a scam. Doesn\u2019t matter who they say: it\u2019s a scam. Don\u2019t give it to a courier, don\u2019t deliver it anywhere, don\u2019t send it. It\u2019s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGo to a Bitcoin ATM\u201d is a scam. Nobody legit will ever insist you get cryptocurrency of any kind. And there\u2019s no legit reason for someone to send you to a Bitcoin ATM. It\u2019s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBuy gift cards\u201d is a scam. There\u2019s never a reason to pay for anything with a gift card. And once you share the PIN numbers on the back, your money\u2019s as good as gone.<\/span><\/p>\n If you see or hear any version of any of these phrases, you\u2019ve just spotted a scammer. Instead of doing what they say, stop. Hang up. Delete the email. Stop texting. Block their number \u2014 anything to get away from them. And then, tell someone you trust and report the scam to the FTC.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n And though that’s a lot of information, it is just a sample of what you’ll learn by visiting this week’s Cloudeight site pick the FTC’s How to Avoid Imposter Scams website.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s worth a visit and worth your time to read all the information on that website. The more you know the safer you. We don’t want you to be a victim of a scam…not today, not during the holiday season, not ever. Please do take the time to visit our site pick “How to Avoid Imposter Scams”.<\/span><\/a><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n The grief and money you save might just be your own.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The More You Know About Scams, the Less Likely it Is You’ll Be a Victim The holiday season is fast approaching and that means scammers will be out in full force trying to trick you into giving them your money. But you can stay one step ahead of the scammers by learning all you can about the\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,1678,1680,4504],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29259"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29261,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29259\/revisions\/29261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nA call from your gas, electric, or water company threatening to immediately turn off your service is probably a scam. Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2025\/scammers2024.png\")
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