4 Surefire Signs That You’re Getting Scammed

Online scams seem to be a part of day to day life nowadays, and luckily, they’re usually easy to spot. But some scams can be tricky to sniff out, and if you fall prey to them, you could lose money, or worse, become a victim of identity theft. Here 4 red flags to look out for if you’re trying to determine if you’re being faced with a scam:

  1. “Official Requests for Personal Information:

    If you receive an email that asks you to reply via email with account numbers, login information, or other sensitive information, it’s most likely a scam.

    I once received an email that looked a lot like it was from Amazon. It claimed that something was wrong with my account, and that I needed to send login and password information to resolve the issue. I didn’t bite, thankfully.

  2. Spelling and Grammar Problems:

    While everyone makes mistakes, several grammatical errors and typos could be a dead giveaway to the fact that an email is a scam. If it seems like the sender isn’t writing in his or her native language, the email is probably not coming from an official source.

  3. Urgency:

    Are you being pressured into something? Is the sender claiming that life hangs in the balance? Are you being told that if you don’t invest right now you will lose the opportunity of a lifetime forever? Anytime there’s this level of urgency to an “offer” or request for help, you need to be careful. Often, it means that there’s a scammer in the background.

  4. Social Media Friend Asks for Money:

    Watch out for cons that have become increasingly sophisticated because of social media. You may encounter a dating con where someone asks you to wire money to them to ensure you can meet or to resolve an emergency. You could also have someone pose as a Facebook friend to ask for money. Either way, if some approaches you online for money (especially if they’re asking you to wire it), be wary.

Check out more warning signs over at Bargaineering’s 7 Red Flags You’re About to be Scammed.