Money and taxes · First steps · about 20 minutes

Spot and Avoid Scams

Scammers pretend to be people or groups you trust, then rush you into paying or sharing private information. Knowing the warning signs, and knowing that real government agencies never demand gift cards or crypto, protects you and your family.

When to teach it: Watch from about 8, help from about 10, do it alone from about 13.

You'll need

Your phone, email, and social media accounts
A trusted adult or friend to talk to
ReportFraud.ftc.gov saved in your bookmarks

Economics

How it works: Why scammers rush you and want hard-to-trace money

A scam only works if you pay before you think it through. That's why scammers invent a problem or a prize and then push you to act now, sometimes telling you not to hang up or to keep it secret. Time works against the scammer, so taking your time is a strong defense.

Scammers also pick how you pay. Gift cards, wire transfers, bank transfers, crypto, and payment apps make it hard to get money back once it's sent. A credit card, by contrast, comes with more protections and ways to dispute a charge.

The stakes are real. The FTC says people reported more than $4 billion in losses last year to scams paid with bank transfers and cryptocurrency alone.

Try it: Write five pretend messages: a prize text, a 'tax problem' phone script, a friendly text from a stranger asking to chat, a real store receipt email, and a real school reminder. Have your child sort them using the four signs: pretend, problem or prize, pressure, and pay a specific way.

Keep learning: Business Cases

Teaching it to your kids

Practice saying 'I'll call you back' and hanging up. Make it a family habit.
Agree on a family rule: no one buys gift cards or sends money because of a call, text, or message without talking to a parent first.
Look at real scam texts on your phone together and point out the four signs.
Talk about scams with grandparents and friends too; everyone can be a target.

Tips

Block unwanted calls and filter unwanted texts on your phone.
Turn on multi-factor authentication so a stolen password isn't enough to get into your accounts.
Set your security software and phone updates to install automatically.
Before you pay someone new, search their name with words like 'scam' or 'complaint.'
When you can, pay with a credit card; it has more protections.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Instead
Calling back the number in the message	Look up the real number yourself on the official website or your statement.
Trusting caller ID	Caller ID can be faked. Hang up and call a number you know is real.
Depositing a check from a stranger and sending part of it back	Never do this. It's a common scam.
Waiting because you feel embarrassed	Act right away. Fast action can sometimes stop or reverse a payment.

Safe habits

No government agency will demand payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or payment app.
Don't click links or open attachments in messages you didn't expect.
Don't give personal or financial information in response to a request you didn't expect.
Social Security will never threaten, scare, or pressure you to act right away, and will never ask you to keep things secret.

Where to get help

Report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.
Report IRS impersonation scams to TIGTA (tigta.gov) and Social Security scams to the SSA Office of the Inspector General (oig.ssa.gov).
If you shared personal information, IdentityTheft.gov has steps based on what was exposed.

Sources

Free how-to guides for families, with nothing to earn, pass or send in. They follow U.S. rules and sources; your owner's manual, product labels and state and local rules come first. This guide explains how things work; it isn't personal financial, tax or legal advice.