9 Common Scams and Scam Tactics to Watch Out For

When we hear stories about people who’ve been scammed, it’s easy to make a quick assumption that the victim was careless or gullible. We’re sympathetic, but question how they were unable to see the red flags.

The truth is, we could all stand to be a little more understanding because it doesn’t matter how smart you are—people fall for scams because they are designed to target not only our wallets but also our minds. Scammers use sophisticated psychological tactics to bypass our rational defenses and cloud judgment. They know exactly which emotional buttons to push and when. 

This is why it’s important to understand the most common types of scams and how these scams operate. It allows us to better protect ourselves and our loved ones from falling prey to cybercrime.

Types of Scams to Watch Out For

Here are some of the most common scam types to watch out for:

Imposter Scams

Imposter scams, or impersonation scams, involve attackers pretending to be a distressed family member or an authority figure to trick you into giving your money or personal information by creating a false sense of urgency.

Scammers may pose as a law enforcement official, bank representative, recruitment agency or employer, or tech support of a legitimate business with bogus credentials. 

Pig Butchering Scams

Named after the practice of fattening up the hog before slaughter, this elaborate investment fraud gradually lures people into putting more and more money into seemingly legitimate and lucrative schemes (typically, cryptocurrency trading).

The swindlers let you enjoy small wins initially to build trust and encourage larger investments, aka “fattening up the pig,” until you go all in. Once you do that, they disappear with all your money (aka the “butchering”).

Romance Scams

This type of long-drawn fraud involves attackers using fake online personas on dating sites or social media to trick potential targets. They go to great lengths to win your trust and affection and convince you that the relationship is real. Once they have your heart, they come for the money. It’s often in the form of a false emergency that requires immediate financial help.

The scammers use exploitative tactics like love bombing and gaslighting to make the victim question their own judgment and pressure them into acting hastily. 

Payment App Scams

These scams use unauthorized methods to steal your money or sensitive information via peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps such as Venmo, Cash App, Paypal, etc. Fraudsters may send fake emails, invoices, or money transfer requests, pretend to be a buyer who made an overpayment, or “accidentally” send you money and request you to give it back. 

Online Shopping Scams

Online purchase scams use fake websites, emails, or ad listings on social media (e.g., Facebook Marketplace) to trick people into buying something that doesn’t exist or isn’t what was advertised. Attackers employ various tactics to extract your money or personal data, including:

• offering unbelievably steep discounts
• faking positive reviews and ratings
• requesting payments in prepaid gift cards or via wire transfer
• using fake QR codes that redirect to phishing sites

Delivery Scams

Package delivery scams use fake shipping alerts pretending to be from a legitimate courier service like USPS or FedEx to deceive online shoppers into paying for bogus deliveries. These scams often prompt you to click on a phony link to “reschedule” or “update your address,” which swindlers use to access your details. 

Lottery Scams

This scam operates by falsely informing a target that they have won a sweepstakes or lottery they never entered. The scammers then demand upfront payment in the guise of processing fees or taxes, or personal information to claim the prize. 

Charity Scams

Charity scams involve seeking donations for nonprofits that do little to no work or don’t exist. For example, they may pretend to collect donations for local firefighters or military veterans. Charity scams are most prevalent during the holiday season and after disasters. 

Robocall Scams

These scams use automated calls with pre-recorded messages to target potential victims. Answering a robocall puts you at risk of scammers stealing your personal or financial information. Common types include customer care, loan fraud, and travel scams. 

The Psychology of Getting Scammed

Scam artists use several psychological tricks to establish trust and manipulate emotions. These include: 

• Authority bias: “They may pose as authority figures or experts and use technical jargon to appear knowledgeable,” says Dr. Alexandra Stratyner, an NYC-based psychologist. This works because people tend to take information from authoritative sources at face value, without thinking of verifying its accuracy or credibility. 
• Halo effect: The halo effect is a cognitive bias where our positive impression about one attribute of a person influences our perception of their other unrelated traits. Fraudsters use this phenomenon by posing as someone successful, knowledgeable, charming, or wealthy. 
• Sympathy bias: Scammers exploit sympathy and empathy by creating scenarios where someone is shown in imminent distress. For example: “My father just passed away, and we’re going to lose our family house. Please help!” “These kinds of scams prey on people’s desire to help one another,” notes Jason Hong, social web expert and professor at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
• Foot-in-the-door technique: This is a type of persuasion tactic that involves making small requests at first then gradually increasing the demands over time, explains Dr. Stratyner. Attackers also persuade by weaponizing flattery, fear of missing out, greed, and urgency.
• Reciprocity bias: According to social psychology, people tend to feel obligated to repay a favor or a kind gesture, even if it is unsolicited. Scammers tap into this cognitive bias by offering small favors or gifts to their targets to create an obligation to return the favor.
• Mirroring: In long-term cons like pig butchering scams or romance scams, scammers typically engage in mirroring behaviors like adopting their target’s interests, values, attitudes, or hobbies to create common ground and build connection, notes Dr. Stratyner. 
• Social proof: Others’ actions and opinions can subconsciously influence the decisions we make. Scammers exploit this psychological phenomenon by using fake testimonials and reviews or multiple profiles to create the impression that they are trustworthy and reliable. 

Once they have gained your trust, scammers create a crisis to evoke an emotional response. They leverage confirmation bias by aligning the scam with the victim’s existing fears and anxieties, explains Brook Choulet, MD, board-certified psychiatrist. This leads victims to act hastily or impulsively without assessing the legitimacy of the situation. 

Because of the deeply violating nature of the crime, scam survivors often experience severe mental and emotional fallout.

“Being scammed can be a major psychological trauma,” says Dr. Stratyner. This can manifest as anxiety, paranoia, insomnia, PTSD, and depression.

In addition, difficult experiences like these can challenge a person’s ‘just world belief.’ “This is a belief that, in general, when people work hard and do the right things, good things will happen to them,” explains Arianna Galligher, associate director of the Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

So when something terrible does happen, “some people will conclude that they must have done something wrong to bring about this outcome. This can also lead to heightened anxiety and difficulty trusting oneself and others,” says Galligher. 

How You Can Protect Yourself

It’s important to first acknowledge that scams can happen to literally anyone. Many people assume it would never happen to them, it in fact makes them more vulnerable because they let their guard down more easily, says Dr. Choulet.

In psychology, this is known as optimism bias, which is the cognitive tendency to think we’re less likely than others to experience negative outcomes. “In reality, it’s a false sense of security,” Dr. Choulet explains. 

Here are other key things to keep in mind to better protect yourself against scams, according to cybersecurity experts:

• Enable two-factor authentication: Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) and additional verification techniques everywhere, recommends Eric O’Neill, former FBI operative and cybersecurity expert. “The best email imposter attacks rely on first compromising an account. Passwords alone will not protect you from cyberattacks,” he says.
• Be skeptical of unasked “help”: “If someone is reaching out to you, trying to ‘help’ for any reason, it’s likely a scam,” says Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan, chief scientist at Aura, who specializes in digital safety and threat intelligence. For example, if someone contacts you to help with “slow wifi” or “compromised system,” but you never made a service call, that’s a red flag. 
• Don’t click on unexpected links: If there’s an unexpected link in a text or an email, don’t click on it. Use a search engine instead, suggests Hong. For instance, if someone gives you a link to a bank website, don’t open it. Instead, look up the bank using a search engine. 
• Watch for urgent requests from untrusted sources: Be wary of requests that are “highly confidential” or require immediate action. “Imposters pair their deceit with pressure situations to convince the target to act quickly before they have a moment to think about their actions,” explains O’Neill.
• Reverse search images: If you’re suspicious, do a reverse image search to find out if a particular photograph is stolen from other sites or are deep fakes. “To identify images that are deep fakes, I use AI to fight AI. My favorite synthetically generated image detector is Anthropic’s Claude.ai,” shares O’Neill.
• Ask to meet potential imposters in person: “A criminal will never arrive at a set meeting and risk arrest. Instead, they will offer countless excuses for why they abruptly missed the meeting,” explains O’Neill.
• Verify business registrations: “Use official business registries to confirm the business is legally registered,” suggests Dr. Ramzan. In the U.S., you can check the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Also, require business transactions to use registered company email accounts. “Be suspicious of emails from free, web-based accounts like Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook,” says O’Neill.
• Cross-check charities before donating: To avoid charity scams, Dr. Ramzan recommends researching nonprofits through charity watchdogs like Charity Navigator, GuideStar, or the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. You can also check out their annual reports and financial statements. Legitimate charities are typically transparent about their finances, notes Dr. Ramzan. 
• Monitor what’s being shared online: Keep an eye on what’s being shared on social media and public websites. “Threat actors will research and take advantage of vacation details for executives, promotions, recruiting, and especially organizational charts,” O’Neill points out.
• Spread awareness: Talk with your family and friends about any scams you’ve come across. “You might not fall for them, but your loved ones might. It’s also a good way to learn about new kinds of scams,” says Hong.

Common Red Flags

Below, Dr. Ramzan shares common warning signs that can help identify potential scams:

For Websites

• Odd URL structure: Look for URLs that mimic legitimate websites but with slight alterations (e.g., using numbers instead of letters).
• Lack of detailed contact information: Legitimate websites typically have detailed contact information, including a physical address and multiple contact methods.
• Poor quality or stolen content: Check for grammar and spelling mistakes, low-resolution images, or content that seems copied from other websites.
• Unusual payment methods: Be wary if the site only accepts non-traditional payment methods, like cryptocurrency or gift cards.
• No privacy policy or terms of service: Legitimate websites will have clear and accessible privacy policies and terms of service.

For Email

• Unusual email domains: Check the sender’s email domain. Scammers often use domains similar to legitimate ones but with minor differences.
• Generic or overly formal greetings: Scam emails often use generic greetings like “Dear User” instead of your actual name.
• Inconsistent branding: Emails from reputable companies will have consistent branding, logos, and email signatures.
• Unexpected attachments or links: They may include unsolicited attachments or links that prompt you to enter personal information.

For Online Shopping

• Too-good-to-be-true offers: Be skeptical of offers that seem excessively generous or unrealistic.
• Pressure tactics: Scammers often create a sense of urgency, insisting you act immediately to secure a deal.
• Requests for personal information upfront: Legitimate offers typically don’t require extensive personal information right away.

What To Do If You’ve Been Scammed

If you suspect you have been scammed, it’s crucial to act quickly to minimize potential damage. Here are some recommended steps from O’Neill:

• Cease all contact immediately
• Document the incident (photos, call records, screenshots, etc.)
• Don’t send a wire payment to someone you don’t know, as they typically can’t be reversed
• Be skeptical of any offers to help recover the stolen money, as they might be a scam

Report the scam

• To the website or platform where the fraud occurred
• To your bank or credit card company, if financial information was shared 
• To local authorities

Keep in Mind

Scammers use a variety of psychological tactics to tap into our cognitive biases, manipulate emotions, and cloud our judgment. However, by staying informed about these manipulative tricks and implementing cybersecurity best practices, we can better protect ourselves from these digital predators.