Spot the Scam

About the book

The scammers behind these numbers are not geniuses. Most are working from scripts, the same few scripts, rewritten for whatever is in the news this month.

In 2024, people in the United States reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud to the FTC, up 25% on the year before. Most of those losses came from a handful of plays, rewritten for whatever is in the news that month: the package that can't be delivered, the bank that needs you to move money, the voice on the phone that sounds just like your grandson.

This book teaches the pattern behind all of them, the pause that defeats most of them, and exactly what to do in the first hour if money has already gone. Figures come from the FTC and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and are cited with their year.

What you'll be able to do

• The four signs that show up in almost every scam
• How imposters fake caller ID, email addresses and bank texts
• Which payment methods can't be reversed, and why scammers want them
• How AI voice clones and fake video calls are used, and a simple family code word
• Who to call and what to freeze in the first hour after a loss

What's inside

1. —Before you start
2. 01Every scam runs the same play
3. 02The pause that beats most scams
4. 03Imposters: who's really calling?
5. 04Texts, emails and the urge to click
6. 05Money that can't come back
7. 06Love, friendship and investment scams
8. 07Jobs, shopping and selling online
9. 08Fake voices, faces and messages
10. 09Lock the doors before anyone knocks
11. 10If it happens: the first hour and after
12. AThe scam-spotting card
13. BWhere to report and get help

A look inside