Recognizing Online Scams

Online scams use deceptive messages, websites, advertisements, or identities to persuade people to share sensitive information, send money, or grant access to accounts. Recognizing these tactics helps us evaluate unexpected requests and respond with greater confidence.

1. Common Forms of Online Scams

Scams can appear across email, messaging apps, social media, and online marketplaces:

• Phishing messages: Requests that imitate trusted organizations to steal login details or personal information.

• Fake offers and prizes: Promises of rewards that require an upfront payment or sensitive details.

• Impersonation: Someone pretending to be a friend, colleague, business, or public figure.

• Shopping scams: Misleading listings or stores that take payment without delivering the promised goods.

• Fake support requests: Messages claiming that an account or device has a problem and needs immediate intervention.

An unfamiliar sender is not the only risk. A compromised account can also send convincing messages.

2. Warning Signs to Notice

Look more closely when a message includes:

• Urgency or threats, such as pressure to act before an account is closed.

• Requests for passwords or verification codes.

• Unexpected links or attachments.

• Instructions to keep the conversation secret.

• Offers that promise exceptional rewards with little effort or risk.

A familiar logo, polished language, or secure-connection symbol does not prove that a website or message is trustworthy.

3. Pause, Check, and Verify

1. Read carefully before clicking, replying, or downloading.

2. Check the sender’s full address and examine website domains for unexpected differences.

3. Open the official app or website directly to review account alerts.

4. Confirm unusual requests through another trusted channel, using contact details you already know.

5. Keep passwords and one-time codes private, even when someone claims to be helping.

4. Responding to a Suspected Scam

Stop the conversation and avoid further interaction with suspicious links or files. Use the platform’s reporting tools and preserve relevant messages if you need to report the incident.

Recognizing a scam is a skill, not a test of intelligence. Slowing down and checking independently can interrupt even a convincing attempt at deception.