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What scams look like now

Patterns worth knowing before you reply

Most scams follow a small number of scripts. Once you've seen the shape of one, the details stop mattering. This page covers the ones people run into most, what to do if you already sent money, and where to report. The labels on reports are explained under patterns we track.

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The four signs, and two habits

The FTC boils almost every scam down to four moves. If you see two of them together, stop and check with someone before you do anything. The last two tips are habits that help.

  • They contacted you out of nowhere. A call, text, DM, or match you didn't ask for, claiming to be your bank, a government office, tech support, a delivery company, or someone who just fell for you. Caller ID and sender names can be faked.
  • There's a problem or a prize. Your account is compromised, a package can't be delivered, you owe a toll, your number is "linked to a crime", you won something, or a stranger is suddenly in love with you.
  • They want you to act now. Stay on the phone, don't tell anyone, decide today. Real organizations give you time to think, and don't mind if you hang up and call back on a number you looked up yourself.
  • They tell you how to pay. Crypto or a Bitcoin ATM, gift cards, wire transfer, a payment app, cash to a courier, or a check to deposit and "send back". Nobody legitimate insists on those.
  • A wrong-number or hey-stranger text is a script, not a coincidence. Replying is the hook for friendship, romance, and investment scams. Don't answer. Delete it.
  • Say it out loud to someone. Scammers keep you on the line and ask you to keep it secret because a second opinion breaks the spell. Tell a friend before you send money or information.

Dating and new online friends

Romance scams start warm and slow. The money question comes later, when saying no feels rude.

  • Never send money, gift cards, or crypto to someone you haven't met in person, no matter how real the emergency sounds: medical bills, customs fees, a plane ticket, "leave papers".
  • Watch for love bombing. Fast, intense affection, mirroring your interests, "we're special, keep it private", and always a reason they can't meet: military, oil rig, working abroad. Then a money request that starts small and grows.
  • Stay on the app while you're getting to know someone. Scammers push to WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal fast to get away from the app's scam detection and reporting tools.
  • Video calls help, but they aren't proof. Video can be faked. A camera that's always broken, or a call that's always glitchy, is a reason to slow down, not to feel reassured.
  • Never verify yourself through a link a match sends. "Safety ID", "hookup ID", and "date verification" sites take your card and sign you up for recurring charges. Real dating apps verify inside the app and never charge for it.
  • Reverse-image-search their photos, and search their job plus "scammer" ("oil rig scammer", "army scammer"). Stolen and generated photos are the norm, not the exception.
  • Anyone you met online who offers investing tips, a trading app, or a site they use is running a script, even if a small withdrawal works at first. More on that below.

Investment chats and the long con

Sometimes called romance baiting or "pig butchering". The setup is social. The theft comes when you try to take money out.

  • It starts with a person, not a pitch. A wrong-number text, a dating match, a social media friend, or a "successful investor" in a group chat full of glowing testimonials. Real advisers don't recruit strangers by text.
  • The platform looks real and shows profits. It may even let you withdraw a little. Then come "taxes", "fees", "account upgrades", or "loans" before you can withdraw more. That step is the theft.
  • Check before you put money in. Look the firm and the person up on FINRA BrokerCheck (opens in a new tab) and the SEC's investor.gov (opens in a new tab), and search the platform's name plus "scam". Guaranteed or unusually high returns are the tell.
  • A Bitcoin ATM is not a way to secure or invest your money. Nobody legitimate sends you to withdraw cash and scan a QR code at a kiosk.
  • If you already lost money, expect recovery offers. Fake law firms, "blockchain investigators", people posing as police or the FTC. Never pay an upfront fee to get money back.
  • Talk to your bank or someone you trust before moving a large sum. A polished app and patient, fluent conversation are not signs it's real. One scammer can now run thousands of convincing conversations at once.

Buying, selling, and payment apps

Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App are cash. Once it's sent, it's usually gone.

  • Treat payment apps like cash. Only pay people you know, or use the platform's protected checkout. Payments you authorized are usually not refundable.
  • Money is real only when it shows in your app balance or bank account. Screenshots, emails saying "payment pending until you ship", and "upgrade to a business account to receive funds" messages are fake.
  • Overpayment is a scam. Anyone who "accidentally" pays too much, sends a check for more than the price, or wants you to pay their mover or courier is setting up a reversal. Refuse and report.
  • Never share a verification code, and never let someone "text you a code to prove you're real". That's the Google Voice trick: they're using your number to open an account in your name.
  • Meet in a public place and inspect before paying. Many police stations offer safe exchange spots. Check tracking numbers on the carrier's own site, not from a screenshot.
  • Buyer and seller tells: a brand-new profile, an instant "I'll take it" with no questions, wants to move off the app, pushes gift cards or wire, or has a story about being deployed or out of town and needing a third party to handle it.

Texts and calls

Delivery notices, toll bills, bank alerts, and calls from "the government" are the most common openers right now. Almost all of them lead to the same place: a link or a payment.

  • Don't tap links in unexpected texts about deliveries, tolls, "suspicious purchases", or locked accounts. Open the real app or type the website yourself. Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), then delete them.
  • Hang up and call back using the number on your card or the official website, never a number from the text, pop-up, or caller. Caller ID can show your bank's real name and number.
  • Your bank, the government, and real companies will never tell you to move money to protect it, buy gift cards, deposit cash at a Bitcoin ATM, hand cash or gold to a courier, or keep the call secret. Anyone who does is a scammer, whatever the caller ID says.
  • Law enforcement doesn't arrest people over the phone or on a video call, and warrants don't arrive by text. "You missed jury duty" and "your Social Security number is linked to a crime" are scripts.
  • A voice can be cloned from a few seconds of audio. If a "relative" calls in distress asking for money, hang up and call them directly. Agree on a family safe word ahead of time.
  • Never read a one-time passcode to anyone who calls. The code is the key to your account, and no support agent needs it.

Job and task scams

An unexpected job offer by text or WhatsApp, with big pay for little work, is almost always the setup for you paying them.

  • Real employers don't recruit by random text, WhatsApp, or Telegram. Ignore vague offers with high pay for simple tasks.
  • Never pay to get paid or to get a job. No "deposit to unlock earnings", no "training fee", no equipment bought with a check they sent you (the check bounces after you send money back).
  • Task jobs are scams. Rating products, liking videos, "app optimization", "product boosting". Small early payouts are bait, and paying for fake reviews is illegal anyway. How the task job pattern runs.
  • Don't let anyone use your bank account, crypto wallet, PayPal, or address to receive and forward money or packages. That's money mule recruitment, and you can be held liable.
  • Check the recruiter. The company's own careers page, the email domain (not Gmail), how long they've been at the company, and the company name plus "scam".

Sextortion and threats

Someone has, or claims to have, intimate images of you and demands money. It's frightening on purpose. Don't pay, stop replying, and get help. Here's how.

  • Don't pay and don't send more images. Paying rarely stops the threats and usually escalates them.
  • Stop responding, but don't delete anything. Screenshot the profile, usernames, messages, and any payment demands. Then block.
  • Report it: to the platform, and to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov (opens in a new tab) or ic3.gov (opens in a new tab). If the person in the image was under 18, also report to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org (opens in a new tab).
  • Get the images blocked, free. Under 18 when the image was taken: Take It Down (opens in a new tab) (takeitdown.ncmec.org). Adults: StopNCII.org (opens in a new tab). Both work from a fingerprint made on your device; the image never leaves your phone.
  • "I hacked your webcam" emails are mass-mailed bluffs, often padded with an old leaked password or a street-view photo of your home. Don't reply, don't pay, delete.
  • You're not to blame, and you're not alone. Tell someone you trust. If you're a teen, tell a parent or another adult you trust first. They will want to help.

If you already sent money

Some of it can come back if you move quickly. Do the first step for your payment type before you finish reading this page.

Minutes matter

Call first, read later. Banks and card issuers can sometimes stop a payment in the first hours. After that, recovery gets much harder.
  • Credit or debit card: call the number on the back of the card, say it was fraud, and ask for a chargeback or reversal.
  • Bank transfer or Zelle: call your bank right away, ask for a recall, and file a dispute. Some banks reimburse scams you authorized. Ask.
  • Wire: MoneyGram 1-800-926-9400, Western Union 1-800-448-1492, Ria 1-877-443-1399, or your bank.
  • Gift cards: call the card issuer. Keep the card and the receipt.
  • Payment app: report the payment inside the app (Venmo: Me, Settings, Get Help. Cash App: profile, Support), and to the linked card or bank.
  • Crypto: transfers are usually irreversible. Still contact the exchange or wallet provider immediately, and never pay a "recovery" firm.
  • Cash by mail: USPS Package Intercept, 877-876-2455.
  • Gave your Social Security number or ID? IdentityTheft.gov (opens in a new tab) walks you through a recovery plan and a credit freeze. Gave a password? Change it everywhere you reused it and turn on 2-step verification. Gave remote access to your computer? Disconnect it, run security software, and change passwords from a different device.
  • Then report it, to ReportFraud.ftc.gov (opens in a new tab) and IC3.gov (opens in a new tab). Write down phone numbers, usernames, wallet addresses, dates, and amounts while you still remember them.
  • Expect follow-ups. Whoever took the money often comes back as "recovery" help, "the police", or "the FTC", offering to get it back for a fee. Same people. Nobody legitimate charges upfront to recover a loss.
  • Older adults, or their families: the DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-372-8311, and the AARP Fraud Watch helpline, 877-908-3360. Both are free and staffed by people who do this all day.

Where to report

Reporting rarely gets your money back by itself. It's how these numbers get shut down, and how the next person gets warned.

Anywhere in the US

Anything involving someone under 18

Scam texts and calls

The platform it happened on

Outside the US

Older adults

  • DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline 833-372-8311. AARP Fraud Watch helpline 877-908-3360. Free, and you don't need to be a member.

And here

  • Report the number here. It goes on that number's page, where anyone who searches it sees the pattern. About a minute, no account needed.

Drawn from guidance published by the FTC (opens in a new tab), the FBI's IC3 (opens in a new tab), NCMEC (opens in a new tab), AARP (opens in a new tab), and Australia's Scamwatch (opens in a new tab). Last reviewed August 2026. Phone numbers and links can change; if one doesn't work, search the organization's name.