How to Avoid Common Money Scams

Common patterns behind money scams and practical red flags to watch for, without naming specific companies.

Scams targeting money and personal information follow recognizable patterns, even though the specific stories change constantly. Learning the patterns matters more than memorizing any particular scam, because new versions appear all the time.

The urgency tactic

Almost every scam relies on some version of an urgency tactic - pressure to act immediately, before you have time to think it through or check with someone else. A message might claim your account will be closed within the hour, that you’ll miss a one-time opportunity, or that a family member is in trouble and needs money right now. Legitimate organizations and real emergencies rarely require an instant decision with no time to verify anything. When you feel that rush of urgency, treat it as a signal to slow down, not speed up.

Phishing and unverified requests

Phishing is when someone pretends to be a trustworthy source - a bank, a company, or even a friend - in a message, email, or call, in order to get you to hand over personal information or money. An unverified request is any request for money or sensitive information that you cannot independently confirm is genuinely coming from who it claims to be. A message claiming to be your bank asking you to “confirm” your account number, or a text claiming to be a friend needing money urgently, are both unverified requests until you check through a separate, trusted channel.

Working through a suspicious message, step by step

Imagine you get a text claiming to be from your bank saying your account has been "locked" and you must click a link and enter your login details within 30 minutes to unlock it. Instead of clicking the link, you could open your bank's app directly, the way you normally would, and check your account status there. If nothing looks wrong in the app, and there's no notice about a lock, that's a strong sign the text was not actually from your bank. Calling the number printed on your physical bank card, rather than any number provided in the suspicious text, is another safe way to check.

General red flags worth remembering

A few patterns show up across almost all scams: a request to pay using an unusual method, like gift cards or a wire transfer, which are hard to reverse once sent; a request to keep something secret from parents, friends, or a bank; contact from someone you don’t personally know offering money in exchange for a small upfront payment; and any message with spelling errors or a slightly wrong web address that resembles a real company’s name but isn’t quite right.

Clicking a link or replying before verifying who sent it

A common mistake is engaging directly with a suspicious message - clicking its link, calling the number it provides, or replying with information - instead of independently verifying through a separate, known channel first. Always navigate to a company's website or app yourself, or use a phone number you already had, rather than trusting anything provided inside the suspicious message itself.

Key takeaways

Scams commonly rely on urgency to stop you from thinking it through or checking with someone else.
Phishing means someone pretends to be a trusted source to get money or information.
Always verify a request through a separate, trusted channel you already know - never through the message itself.
Watch for requests using gift cards, secrecy, or slightly wrong web addresses.
When in doubt, slow down and ask a trusted adult before acting.