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Unwanted Calls
What to know about blocking unwanted calls, dealing with robocalls, avoiding phone scams, and being on the Do Not Call Registry.
Scammers pretend to be from government agencies like the FTC, Social Security Administration, and IRS — or say they're calling about your Medicare benefits. Learn the signs and avoid the scam.
Scammers pretending to be from the government tell convincing stories to steal your money or personal information. But now they’re taking a new, layered approach — and here are some clues to spot it.
Is there a legit reason for someone to send you to a Bitcoin ATM? The short answer is NO. Will someone from the government send you to a Bitcoin ATM? NEVER. If you’ve followed this Anatomy of a Scam series, you know there’s more to it than that.
One way to spot a scam is to understand its mechanics. A new and complicated scam starts with a call or text message about a suspicious charge on your Amazon account. But it’s not really Amazon. It’s a scammer with an elaborate story about fraud using your identity that ends with you draining your bank or retirement accounts.
Scammers say and do things that can tell us they’re lying — and they’re 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.