Be sure to watch for urgent requests, pressure to act quickly, and offers that seem too good to be true. This would include unsolicited contact, requests for personal information and unusual payment methods (wire transfers, gift cards).

Recent scams include the following: (1) Impersonation scams, where the scammer pretends to be from a trusted entity like a bank or the IRS and tricks you into sending money or providing personal information,   (2) Tech support scams where a pop-up or call will claim your computer is infected with a virus and you need to pay for “support” to fix it, or (3) Grandparent scam, where scammers call pretending to be a grandchild in trouble who needs money immediately and asks you not to tell anyone. To help prevent this scam within your family, set up a code word among family members that can be asked during these types of calls to identify the person on the other line.

If you believe you are a victim of a scam:

• Contact your bank and credit card company.
• Report the scam to local authorities.
• If the scammer obtained your username and password-
  • Create a new, strong password: 12 -16 characters long that contains a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
  • Avoid using identifiable information like your birthday, addresses, names of family members or pet’s name.
  • It is recommended you create new passwords every 3 months.
• If you paid with a gift card – contact the company that issued the gift card. Tell them it was used in a scam and ask them to refund you the money.
• If you sent cash by US mail- contact the U.S Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 and ask if they can intercept the package.
• If the scammer obtained your social security number – go to identitytheft.gov and see what steps to take, including how to monitor your credit.