Scams: how they work and what to do if you fall for one
Phishing, fake texts, phone and tech support scams, bank impersonation, romance and investment fraud, plus step by step first aid if you already clicked.
If you are reading this because something has just gone wrong, go straight to what to do after clicking a phishing link or what to do in the first hour after sending money to a scammer. Both are written for the minutes you are in, in the order the steps actually matter, and the rest of this can wait until you have made the calls.
Otherwise, the useful thing to understand is that a scam is not a test of intelligence. It is a trade in urgency, borrowed authority and a short window where you are steered away from checking. Phishing gets past careful people because the message looks exactly like one you were expecting, and the red flags in a text or email are easy to miss at the end of a long day. The version that empties accounts is the call telling you to move money to a safe account, which imitates the tone of a real fraud team.
One rule covers a surprising amount of it. Nobody legitimate will ever ask you to move money to protect it, and nobody legitimate minds if you hang up and call the number on your own card.
Articles in this hub
- Phishing explained: how fake messages get past smart peopleWhat phishing is, the psychology that makes it work, how targeted spear phishing differs, and the habits that protect you when you are tired and busy.
- Scam texts and emails: the red flags that still workA practical checklist for judging a suspicious message, including sender domains, link previews and the requests that no real company ever makes.
- Bank impersonation: the safe account scam and how it worksThe most costly scam there is: a convincing call from your bank asking you to move money to safety. How it is set up, the single sentence that gives it away, and what to do after.
- Phone scams: spoofed numbers, robocalls and pressure tacticsWhy the caller ID showing your bank means nothing, the scripts fraudsters use, and a simple hang up and call back rule that defeats almost all of them.
- Tech support scams: the fake virus warning and the fake refundHow pop-up warnings and cold calls from Microsoft or Apple lead to remote access and drained bank accounts, and how to get out at any stage.
- Parcel scams: the fake delivery text and the small fee trickWhy the missed delivery text asking for a small redelivery fee is so effective, what the scammers really want, and how to check a real delivery.
- AI powered scams: what actually changed and what did notCloned voices, flawless phishing text and fake video calls: which AI scam threats are real today, which are overstated, and the verification habits that survive all of them.
- I clicked a phishing link: what to do in the next ten minutesA calm, ordered response to clicking a bad link: what actually happens at each stage, what to change first, and how to tell whether anything was really compromised.
- I sent money to a scammer: the first hour matters mostWhat can still be recovered and how, in order: the calls to make, the words that trigger a recall, the reports that matter, and what to expect from each payment method.